“Journey in the history books,” Lewis Hamilton bids emotional farewell to Mercedes after 12-year-long stint at Brackley

Lewis Hamilton bid an extremely emotional farewell to Mercedes in Formula 1 before entering the doors of Ferrari in 2025.


“Journey in the history books,” Lewis Hamilton bids emotional farewell to Mercedes after 12-year-long stint at Brackley

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (via Formula 1)

Lewis Hamilton‘s time with Mercedes is up as the Briton will start preparing for the move to Ferrari. Hamilton is leaving Brackley after racing with the team for over 12 years. The 39-year-old scored some highly impressive performances with the German carmaker, especially the six-world championships. Hence, following the end of the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, the Ferrari-bound driver bid an emotional farewell to the team.

The Abu Dhabi GP was an extremely difficult race for Lewis Hamilton, especially after being eliminated from the Q1 qualifying session. However, the Briton scored a stellar turnaround and finished in P4, managing a great end to his career as a Silver Arrow.

YouTube video

Hamilton took to the team radio and bid an emotional farewell to the team, especially his race engineer Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington. The Briton reckoned that Bono alongside him dreamed alone but believed together. As a team, the 39-year-old achieved a lot together with them and thanked them for their courage and determination towards him. Moreover, the seven-time world champion recalled the move from McLaren to Mercedes as a ‘leap of faith’ that now turned into a journey in the history books.

FS Video

The pleasure’s been mine. Yea Bono, we dreamed alone, but together we believed. And as a team, we achieved things that…, thank you for all the courage, the determination, the passion, and for seeing me and supporting me. What started out as a leap of faith turned into a journey into the history books. We did everything together and I’m so so grateful to everyone. From the bottom of my heart, all the best.

Lewis Hamilton said on the team radio

Lewis Hamilton will ‘always’ be a part of Mercedes family

Mercedes continued to root for Lewis Hamilton regardless of the move and is also planning a mega farewell for him. Hence, amidst Hamilton’s emotional message, Toto Wolff joined the same chain of thought. The Mercedes boss highlighted that the 39-year-old will always be a part of the family. Moreover, the 53-year-old took a jibe at Mercedes’s performance and noted that if they couldn’t win, the Englishman deserved a chance to win with Ferrari.

You’ll always be part of this family. And if we can’t win, you should.

Toto Wolff said on the team radio
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (via racefans.net)
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton (via racefans.net)

The 2024 season will go down in history as one of the most interesting seasons in Formula 1. The campaign witnessed multiple race winners from the top teams. Additionally, the constructors’ championship dragged on until the very last race against McLaren and Ferrari. Hence, the upcoming season will be equally exciting for a variety of reasons.