Lewis Hamilton was visibly emotional and in tears as he crouched in a corner after finishing his last race with the Mercedes F1 team at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The seven-time F1 world champion closed one of the most iconic chapters in the sport’s history, given the success he and the German team enjoyed in their 12 years together.

Hamilton displayed an excellent turn of pace during the main race at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday evening. The 39-year-old made his way back to P4 despite starting from P16, which was reminiscent of his drives with Mercedes over the years.

In a video shared by the team on their official social media platform, X, Lewis Hamilton could be seen in tears as he crouched down in the garage after completing his final race for the team.

Lewis Hamilton had earlier crouched by his car at the main straight after the race. Reflecting on his moment while speaking to F1.com, he said:

“I can’t remember to be honest, it’s already a blur, but I think it was just the last time I’m going to be in the cockpit of a Mercedes. Just trying to enjoy that moment,” Hamilton said. “Obviously, I did the whole race, and there’s so much to do in it, but just to be able to hold onto that moment, because it’s history now and all my races have all been powered by Mercedes and all the success we’ve had – I just sat there to think about all that and just contemplate how great a journey it’s been.”
The British driver had an overall disappointing farewell season with the Brackley-based outfit, as he could only finish in P7 in the drivers’ championship behind his teammate George Russell.

Former F1 world champion heaps praise on Lewis Hamilton
Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg claimed that Lewis Hamilton was “maybe the greatest natural talent the sport has ever seen” after the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Speaking with Sky Sports, Rosberg, who fuelled out with the 39-year-old since their childhood and in the same team from 2013 to 2016, reflected:

“He certainly has one of, or maybe the greatest natural talent the sport has ever seen. It’s just unbelievable. And there’s so many occasions where we have the same car, we go out, we come in and you look at the data of what he’s done with that car, and it’s just like ‘that’s not even human. What is that?’ And I was a decent driver as well, so there were so many occasions where I was just like, ‘this is insane’.”
Lewis Hamilton won 84 times with Mercedes, claimed six of his seven world championships, and guided them to eight consecutive Constructor’s Championships.

Edited by Shirsh