Mercedes have broken a vital ‘promise’ they made to Lewis Hamilton before Ferrari move

Lewis Hamilton is no longer involved in certain Mercedes meetings as his move to Ferrari gets closer. He’ll compete in his final race for the team in Abu Dhabi in less than three weeks’ time.

While his access is unrestricted during race weekends, Hamilton is excluded from Mercedes factory discussions relating to car development. This is to ensure he can’t take particular secrets with him to Ferrari.

Of course, Hamilton will still have an incredibly detailed picture of how Mercedes operate after 12 seasons. But when he inevitably comes up against his old team next year, he won’t know many of the specifics of the W16.

It’s unclear how much information he’d be willing to impart. While he’s no doubt wary of harming his relationship with the Silver Arrows, he’ll want to tap into any possible competitive advantage.

In the last couple of years, Hamilton and teammate George Russell would have offered their feedback at Brackley in the hope of dictating the car’s development direction. Whether they’ve taken their concerns onboard or not, Mercedes have failed to deliver a marked step forward since the start of the ruleset.

Academy sensation Kimi Antonelli will replace Hamilton next year. While Antonelli adapts to F1, Mercedes may miss the depth of the insight provided by one of the most experienced drivers in history.

Mercedes promised Lewis Hamilton a ‘new era’ of success

Hamilton ‘left the world’ at the end of 2021 after an error from race director Michael Masi effectively cost him the world championship. Max Verstappen snatched the title with a last-lap pass in Abu Dhabi.

But he arrived for winter preparations the following year with renewed optimism. 2022, the first year of the ground-effect era, was supposed to be a revenge tour.

Mercedes gambled on a radical ‘zeropod’ concept and it backfired, which saw them finish 244 points behind Red Bull as Hamilton’s record of winning at least once every season came to an end.

2023 was a step forward in terms of position as they leapfrogged Ferrari for second, but Red Bull still scored more than double the points in the most dominant season ever. According to The Race’s Gary Anderson, Hamilton ‘was promised’ that each car launch was the ‘dawn of a new era’.

But Mercedes haven’t been able to uphold that vow. By the time they unveiled this year’s challenger, Hamilton had activated the exit clause in his contract to join Ferrari.

How Lewis Hamilton rectified the mistake of his McLaren exit when leaving Mercedes for Ferrari

One journalist has claimed Hamilton has ‘clocked out’ at Mercedes, which suggests he’s counting down those 18 days until the chequered flag at Abu Dhabi. He’s had a dispiriting run since the summer break, finishing eighth or lower three times and spinning out in the USA.

Hamilton caught Mercedes off-guard with one radio message after the race in Brazil where he used the phrase ‘if this is the last time I get to perform’. That led to speculation that he might walk away before the end of the season, but the team quickly rebuffed it.

The seven-time world champion has tried to handle his exit with respect. Hamilton regretted leaving McLaren over the phone so made sure he met with Toto Wolff face-to-face last winter.

With the drivers’ title likely to be decided by then, many F1 fans will be focused on Mercedes come Yas Marina. Hamilton will run a special livery featuring the names of fans, but the emotions will be telling – will there be overarching sadness, or a mutual sense of relief?