Lewis Hamilton kicked off his final F1 weekend as a Mercedes driver by apologising to his team after ‘really not wanting’ to do something at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion calls time on his Silver Arrows career at the Yas Marina Circuit ahead of Hamilton joining Ferrari in 2025. His debut in red will have to wait until pre-season testing, though, after Mercedes refused to release Hamilton for the post-season test.
F1 will stay at Yas Marina beyond the Abu Dhabi GP but Mercedes will not let Hamilton drive for Ferrari in the post-season test as he is needed at sponsorship commitment with Petronas on the same day. It is not the only event on the 39-year-old’s Mercedes farewell tour, either.
Lewis Hamilton ‘so sorry’ for his reluctance to attend a special Mercedes farewell event
Mercedes also arranged a special farewell event for Hamilton ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP on Thursday. But the Briton was extremely reluctant to attend the event after the Silver Arrows kept the reason for the gathering a secret. It made Hamilton remorseful when he knew why.
That is according to journalist Julianne Cerasoli, who reports that Hamilton could not get his head around why Mercedes were taking him to the paddock club for the first time since the Briton joined them in 2013. But a special farewell video awaited the Stevenage-born legend.
Cerasoli said on Pit Pass F1: “Mercedes did a special thing with him this Thursday. He wasn’t expecting that, it was a surprise thing.
“They took him to the paddock club and he was not really willing to go to the paddock club saying, ‘Oh, I’ve never been to the paddock club in 12 years with this time. How come I’m going now? What are you doing?’ and really not wanting to go.
“When he arrived there, the whole team were all there waiting for him, and they played a very special video that had images since his karting days.
“Seeing that video was very touching and it was very emotional for the whole team and everybody was watching with him and he said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry that I didn’t want to come to this thing because I’m really grateful’. And it was an emotional moment for the team.”
How long has Lewis Hamilton been with Mercedes?
Mercedes’ farewell gathering for Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi GP ahead of his switch to rivals Ferrari in 2025 was not the only event the Briton had scheduled for Thursday, too. Hamilton got F1’s Class of 2024 together for an end-of-season meal, as well, with 16 drivers attending.
READ MORE: Seven best drives of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes career ahead of Ferrari move
But Mercedes needed to gather their ranks ahead of Hamilton’s final race as a Silver Arrows driver to celebrate his 12 years with the team. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is also the 39-year-old’s 356th and final Formula 1 race he will use a Mercedes engine ahead of joining Ferrari.
Hamilton has only ever used Mercedes engines since making his Formula 1 debut driving for McLaren in 2007 and then since joining the Silver Arrows in 2013. So, Mercedes power units have also taken Hamilton to his record 105 Grand Prix wins, 104 poles and 202 podiums yet.
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