12/12/2024
NEWS STORY
In his final outing for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton gives a typically bravura performance, spurred on by 'Bono's call for "Hammer-time!"
Though he is heading to arguably the most iconic team in motor sport, Lewis Hamilton will never forget his 12 years with the Three Pointed Star.
Twelve years in which he secured six titles and 84 wins.
Speaking at race end, the Briton admitted that it had been a tough final season, the longest year of his life, but that it was still a very emotional time for him.
Starting 16th on the grid, Hamilton was up to twelfth by the end of the first lap and on the final lap passed his teammate to claim fourth, going around the outside in the infamous Turn 9.
Urged on by Toto Wolff, who insisted "You can do it", Hamilton overcame a 14s deficit to his teammate that served notice that 'the boy's still got it'.
The first stint was really, really difficult," said Hamilton at race end. "I wasn't losing hope, but I was just like, 'ah, it's not going as well as I thought it would'.
But I didn't give up," he continued, "I kept pushing, 'come on, we can get there'. I switched onto the medium, and the car came alive.
"I had a massive gap to close, so I just focused on getting absolutely everything from the car and not giving up.
"I just wanted to finish on as much of a high as possible and give every ounce of me to the team as they've given to me all of these years," he admitted.
After taking the chequered flag, the seven-time world champion celebrated the momentous occasion with some traditional donuts. Then, before climbing out of the car for the last time, he allowed himself a few precious moments. Then, climbing from the W15, he knelt down beside it.
"Every moment that I've got in the car this week I've known that it's one of the last," he said. "It's been really, really clear, and really hard to let go.
"So I think when I stopped the car I just wanted to embrace the moment, because it's the last time I'm going to step into Mercedes and represent them.
"It's been the greatest honour of my life," he added, "so I think when I knelt next to it it was just about giving thanks, firstly thanking my own spirit for continuing to push, and thanking everyone that powered and built that car. I'm proud of everyone."
When it was suggested that his hunting down of his teammate was proof that - contrary to what he suggested last week in Qatar - that he has lost some of his confidence in himself, Hamilton said: "It's not that I need to have confidence. I've always had the confidence, but definitely really nice to finish with a strong hard battle. No mistakes, solid drive.
"It's been a really turbulent year, probably the longest year of my life, I would say, because we've known it from the beginning that we're leaving. It's like a relationship, when you've told whoever the counterpart is that you're leaving, but you're living together for a whole year. Lots of ups and downs, emotionally, but we finished off with a high today."
Particularly emotional was his engineer, Pete Bonnington, calling for "Hammer-time".
"I thought, 'That's the last I'm going to hear that',"! Hamilton subsequently told Sky Sports, "it really clicked for me in that moment.
"I remember I told Bono to say it back in the first year together. I was like, don't tell me just go faster, just say tell me it's Hammer time and I'll know what it is.
"And what a roller-coaster ride I've had with Bono," he smiled, "he's been one of my closest friends for many years. It's something I didn't expect to have. He's worked with Michael Schumacher, he's worked with great drivers, but, as frustrating and painful as it can sometimes be, he's stood by me every single day without fail.
"All my races have been powered by Mercedes," he added, "all the success we've had. I'm going to miss them, I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss them. It's going to be a huge amount.
"I've worked with them every day for the past 12 years. There's a lot of love within this team, and that's not going anywhere."
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Yas Marina here.