Lewis Hamilton has revealed he wanted an early Mercedes exit after a difficult Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British driver went into the weekend off the back of an improved result in Mexico City where he finished the race in P4. However, at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, a track where the 39-year-old normally thrives, he endured one of his worst weekends of the year. Whilst teammate George Russell qualified on the front row for Sunday’s grand prix, Hamilton was knocked out in Q1 for the second time in three weekends and started the race from P16. During the 69 laps of racing that ensued, he did manage to fight his way into the points, but no doubt would have been hoping for much more. To add insult to injury, he was also leapfrogged by Russell in the World Drivers’ Championship Standings as a result of the 26-year-old’s P4 finish.
DRIVER STANDINGS (after 21/24 rounds)
Max Verstappen surges ahead with just three races to go#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/7PezUcF3om
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024
A premature departure?
Following the race, Hamilton raised eyebrows with his comments to Race Engineer Peter Bonnington. After taking the chequered flag, he said over the radio:
“If this is the last time that I get to perform, it is a shame it was not great, but I am grateful for you.”
This left many fans to speculate whether the Mercedes driver could potentially end his season early ahead of a move to Ferrari in 2025. Ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton was asked about the comments by Sky Sports F1, to which he responded:
“I mean, in the moment that’s how I felt, like I didn’t really want to come back after that weekend.”
However, the British driver also acknowledged that his comments cane from a place of frustration after another disappointing race during a difficult season:
“But I think that’s only natural. It’s frustrating when you have a season like this, which I’m pretty sure I won’t have again, or at least I’ll work towards not having again.
“It wasn’t a great feeling in that moment, but I’m here, I’m standing strong and I’m going to give it absolutely everything for these last few races.”
Firing in fits and starts
Although it was another season without that elusive eighth championship title, 2023 was not a bad year by any stretch of the imagination for Hamilton. The British driver finished third in the Drivers’ Championship Standings, trailing only Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, both of whom were equipped with the relentless RB20. Alongside this, there was promise from Mercedes that the W15 would be a vast improvement on their previous two cars.
However, the 39-year-old had a far from ideal start to the campaign. Following May’s Monaco Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver was eighth in the Drivers’ Championship Standings and a huge 127 points behind Max Verstappen who sat top. At the time, Hamilton was yet to finish higher than sixth in any race and was on course for his worst ever season finish. That was until the Canadian Grand Prix, where Hamilton kick started an impressive run of form by finishing P4, narrowly being edged out to the final podium position by teammate Russell. In the following five races, the 39-year-old went on to win two grand prix, claiming 95 points and finishing no lower than fourth on any occasion.�
Since the summer break, it has not been quite as plain sailing though. In the following seven races, Hamilton has slumped back into his early season form, picking up just 40 points. More often than not, the British driver has found himself fighting in the midst of the pack and frequently earning a small number of points for his work. With only three race weekends of the 2024 season remaining, there is no doubt that Hamilton will be hoping for one final race win to end his Mercedes tenure on a high.
Three to go. Our final triple header together with LH ? pic.twitter.com/VFamKkl55s
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 18, 2024
Feature Image Credit: (Photo by Gabe Ginsberg – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)