Lewis Hamilton has impressed Formula 1 legend Jackie Stewart with what the seven-time champion did ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and his final race at Mercedes.
The 39-year-old calls time on a decorated stint in Brackley this weekend ahead of Hamilton moving to Ferrari in 2025. Mercedes have powered his entire Formula 1 career to date since the Briton debuted with McLaren in 2007, but Hamilton felt it was time to finally race in red.
Hamilton leaves Mercedes having won six of his seven drivers’ titles for the Silver Arrows, 84 of his record 105 Grand Prix victories and 78 of his record 104 pole positions. He will look to also add to Hamilton’s 153 podiums at Mercedes of a record 202 so far at the Abu Dhabi GP.
Jackie Stewart loves seeing F1 drivers unite after Lewis Hamilton organised an end-of-year dinner
But Hamilton has also left three-time F1 champion Stewart sharing his joy on Instagram. The Scot could not hide his delight in seeing Formula 1’s Class of 2024 come together at an end-of-season dinner at the Abu Dhabi GP, which Hamilton organised and most drivers attended.
Even amid George Russell and Max Verstappen’s bitter feud following the fallout of the Red Bull racer’s grid penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix, they both attended – albeit sat at different ends of the table. Only both Aston Martin and Haas drivers were not pictured at the dinner.
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So, with 16 of the 20 drivers on the 2024 F1 grid pictured at the dinner Hamilton organised, Steward voiced his joy at them being able to come together before the last race of the year. Hamilton also captioned his Instagram post of their dinner to thank to those who attended.
“After another long season battling one another, always good to come together,” Hamilton shared. “Thank you all for coming, [I am] really grateful for the time.”
To which, Stewart replied: “Seeing the whole grid together like this is a truly beautiful thing. Gentleman and sportsmen.”
Lewis Hamilton got Max Verstappen to the dinner amid his feud with George Russell
It is an annual tradition for the Formula 1 drivers to gather for an end-of-season meal before the final race. But not all drivers will attend the dinner with Jack Doohan ahead of his Alpine debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix even amongst those not to attend Hamilton’s gathering.
But the 2024 dinner is a testament to the respect that Hamilton has drawn from his F1 rivals after nine drivers decided to skip the dinner in 2023 including Verstappen, Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso. All 20 were at the meal in 2022 ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s last race in F1.
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The backdrop of the 2024 dinner also makes it all the more remarkable that Verstappen was amongst those to attend Hamilton’s gathering – more than his soon-to-be former Mercedes teammate Russell. The pair continued their war of words on Thursday and it will rumble on.
