Lewis Hamilton’s 2024 Formula 1 season was a mixed tale of ups and downs throughout as he bid farewell to his beloved Mercedes team.
Without a doubt, the highlight was being able to sign off from the Silver Arrows with a landmark ninth victory at the British Grand Prix.
If Lewis Hamilton had found slightly more execution on a Saturday, it’s likely that he would have ended up above teammate George Russell in the Drivers’ Championship.
But multiple failures to make Q3 was Hamilton’s main struggle in 2024 and is something that he needs to work on ahead of his move to Ferrari in 2025.
Lewis Hamilton made ‘extraordinary admission’ about his speed during 2024 F1 season
There were stages throughout the season where Mercedes looked like midfield runners on track, doing no justice to the skills and commitment of Hamilton and Russell.
Then they would surprise the world by turning up and taking victories when no one expected them to, such as at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with the general feeling being that they performed best on colder tracks after the season.
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Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Laura Winter mentioned how the Brit didn’t think he was good enough to race anymore at one stage in the season.
“He said, I woke up every morning for a long time and didn’t think it was good enough anymore,” said Winter.
“I thought that was quite an extraordinary admission for a seven-time world champion to make when he had just won again [at Silverstone].
“You can almost sense this huge sense of relief that he’d finally got another win again and he had done it at the place that matters and means the most to him as well.”
Has Lewis Hamilton proved himself wrong in 2024?
Inconsistency makes an overall judgement on the season a bit tricky to make, but the overall trend of what matters most in Formula 1 – race pace, was good for Hamilton.
It was something he could rely on to fix a bad weekend, with the exception of a disastrous Qatar Grand Prix weekend where he was blasted with penalties and bad luck.
The only fear that he should have ahead of his move to Italy is that Charles Leclerc may be the best driver in the sport over one lap – where Hamilton has regressed in that area.
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With the most pole positions in history, he has it within him to find a similar level of pace, but working hard over the off-season may be the key to unlocking that.
It’s an excellent start to have a strong and historic relationship with new team boss Fred Vasseur and should help them hit the ground running at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix next year.
