Lewis Hamilton will spend this week saying goodbye to Mercedes sponsors and Formula 1 team members ahead of his move to Ferrari next season.
After 12 years together, some 246 races bringing 84 wins, 78 pole positions, 153 podium finishes, eight world constructors’ championships and six world drivers’ championships, it is the end of F1's most successful team-driver partnership.
This weekend marks the closing chapter not only in his involvement with the Mercedes F1 team, but the German car giant that has supported his entire career - a relationship that started 26 years ago.
Hamilton jetted straight from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to see Mercedes’s title partner Petronas.
Sources close to Hamilton say the 39-year-old was relishing the opportunity to say his farewells.
Speaking in a short video clip posted on the team’s social media channels, Hamilton said: “It is obviously a very emotional time, coming back from Abu Dhabi straight into my farewell.
“I am back at the twin [Petronas] Towers. I always love coming here. I always get a fantastic welcome from everyone here in Malaysia and KL.
“I am excited to see the Petronas team, who have been like my family for the past 12 years, so I hope it is not the last time I get to come back, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone today.”
Hamilton’s schedule will see him fly from Kuala Lumpur to Stuttgart where he will have lunch with the Mercedes board and motorsport team on Wednesday.
He will spend Friday greeting staff at their engine plant in Brixworth before heading to the team’s factory at Brackley before concluding his farewell tour at the team’s Christmas party on Saturday.
Mercedes has marked Hamilton’s departure with a goodbye message on huge billboards in Kuala Lumpur, New York, LA and London with the message, “Thank you, Lewis”.
Hamilton is expected to make his debut for Ferrari in a behind-closed-doors event in early 2025, when he is likely to take in some Testing of a Previous Car [TPC] days.
Ferrari remains coy on the details but he could potentially drive the team’s F1 2022 car, the F1-75, at the team's test track in Fiorano.
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