Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 adventure with Mercedes came to an end with a fantastic drive to finish fourth at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
After winning six drivers’ championships during an unprecedented era of success with the Silver Arrows Hamilton will join Ferrari next season, aiming for more glory.
Hamilton departs Mercedes after one of the most challenging seasons of his trophy-laden career and following a level of success he would never have imagined.
Here, Autosport takes a look at some of the highs and lows of Hamilton’s 12-year association with the Mercedes team.
Highs
Hungary for victory
When Hamilton took the surprising step to switch McLaren for Mercedes in 2013, the team he joined was still at the early stages of developing into the powerhouse it would become in the following years.
Despite that, he still managed to take his maiden win for the team in just his 10th race, dominating the weekend to take victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix for a record-equalling fourth time in his career.
The win also saw Hamilton become the first British driver to win a race for Mercedes since Sir Stirling Moss – but it would prove to be his only success of 2013, as the dominant Sebastian Vettel stormed to title glory.
There’s no place like home
Hamilton’s second world championship, and the first of six with Mercedes, came in 2014 as he won 11 races across the season – one of which was success at the British Grand Prix.
It ushered in a remarkable run of wins for Hamilton at Silverstone, who went on to stand on the top step in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
However, when the title successes and race victories dried up, Hamilton’s emotional victory at the 2024 British Grand Prix proved to be a highlight of his final two years and gave him a ninth career win at his home race and an 83rd and penultimate win for Mercedes.
The impossible dream
Barring Rosberg’s 2016 success, Hamilton was untouchable during his peak years at Mercedes and the title win in 2020 saw him draw level with Michael Schumacher on seven drivers’ championships.
Victory at the Turkish Grand Prix saw him seal the title, having surpassed Schumacher’s record of race wins earlier in the season.
“To all the kids out there, dream the impossible,” an emotional Hamilton declared over the team radio as he sealed his place as, statistically, the best driver in F1 history.
Lows
Abu Dhabi drama
An eighth title would have rubber-stamped Hamilton’s position as the greatest to ever compete in F1 – and he came within moments of doing just that in 2021.
Instead, one of the most notorious races would ensue in Abu Dhabi, where both Hamilton and Max Verstappen headed for the season finale locked on the same number of points.
However, controversial decisions taken by race director Michael Masi ultimately saw Hamilton overtaken by Verstappen in the closing stages, with the threats of legal action and calls for retrospective reallocation of points eventually subsiding but leaving Hamilton without his record crown.
The 945-day wait
As part of his 2021 title challenge, Hamilton won three of the final four races with victories coming in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
However, the win in Jeddah proved to be his last for a long time. In fact, it was 945 days – or 56 races – for him to add to his winner’s trophies when he won at Silverstone in 2024.
It would prove to be the last time Hamilton was on the top step for Mercedes, even if he would later claim the victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after Russell was disqualified post-race due to his car being underweight.
Slow Saturdays
Hamilton’s final season at Mercedes was his worst in terms of points tally and his position in the drivers’ championship as he was ultimately soundly beaten by team-mate George Russell.
It was arguably on Saturday where Russell’s superiority showed as he outqualified his compatriot 19-5 over the course of the year, following that up with a 5-1 lead in sprint qualifying too.
Hamilton bemoaned his qualifying speed a number of times throughout the campaign and said in Qatar that: “I’m definitely not fast anymore” – Ferrari will certainly be hoping that is not the case…
