Carlos Sainz has just pinpointed why Lewis Hamilton had such a ‘difficult’ year at Mercedes in 2024

Lewis Hamilton produced a stellar drive on his final outing for Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend. Hamilton recovered from a Q1 exit to finish fourth, gaining 12 positions.

The seven-time world champion finished second in the driver of the day voting behind future Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who rallied from 19th to score a podium (29.4% vs 20.2%). While there was no fairytale victory or podium finish, it was still a fitting conclusion to his Mercedes story.

Indeed, Hamilton executed a sublime move around the outside of teammate George Russell on the final lap, albeit with fresher tyres. It was far from the anonymous, uncomfortable finale it had threatened to be.

Just a week earlier, he’d endured one of the most dismal races of his career at the Qatar GP. After a puncture and a penalty, he came home a season-worst P12.

Despite his Abu Dhabi flourish, Hamilton finishes outside the top six in the world championship for the first time in his career. Russell ultimately outscored him by 18.

But his qualifying woes were most alarming. He lost the head-to-head a whopping 19-5, with his partially unlucky Q1 elimination on Saturday rather summing up his season.

Carlos Sainz suspects imminent Mercedes exit did not ‘sit well’ with Lewis Hamilton

While Hamilton is replacing Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, many would argue that the Spaniard had a better season. He won the same number of races (two), but scored four more podiums and 67 more points.

Of course, this largely reflects Ferrari’s advantage over Mercedes. But the performance of the two drivers relative to their two teammates is more revealing.

Sainz beat Leclerc a combined 17 times in qualifying sessions and races (excluding Sprints). Hamilton, on the other hand, only defeated Russell on 12 occasions.

Speaking to DAZN, Sainz said it was ‘difficult’ to maintain motivation and focus in the face of an impending exit. While he managed to do so, he inadvertently explained why Hamilton would have felt unsettled at Mercedes.

“It’s been a tough year mentally,” he said. “The way to face a year knowing that you’re leaving at the end of the year is never ideal. All the great years of all athletes come with a 100% team, with a project for the future, with everyone pushing in the same direction.

“It has been like that, I have noticed that Ferrari has been with me all season, but whether you like it or not, knowing that you are leaving at the end of the year is something that does not sit well with you, and it is difficult to deal with it, and we have managed to stay away from it and continue giving everything.”

Carlos Sainz is wrong to claim he’s ‘stronger’ than Lewis Hamilton before Ferrari exit

Peter Windsor couldn’t believe Sainz was more fired up than Hamilton in the final months of the season. One driver can look forward to a potential title shot in 2025, while the other may struggle to score points.

But Sainz seemingly came into the year with a chip on his shoulder after Ferrari’s brutal decision. Meanwhile, Hamilton grew increasingly dispirited as Mercedes faced familiar limitations.

After the race in Abu Dhabi, Sainz claimed he’s ‘stronger’ than Hamilton, as well as Leclerc and Lando Norris. He based this on his performance against the trio ‘on equal terms’.

But that’s not quite a fair reflection. While few would dispute that he outperformed the driver who’s taking his seat, Mercedes were the fourth-fastest team in 2024, and Ferrari will feel they could have won the title.