Lewis Hamilton reveals ‘strain’ on Mercedes relationship after early exit news
Lewis Hamilton
Informing Mercedes that 2024 would be his last season with the team, Lewis Hamilton has revealed it “took time” for some people to get over his decision.
It also left him sporting a few bruises after a pre-season paintballing session.
Lewis Hamilton: People went in on me that day
Hamilton, Mercedes and Ferrari announced to the world on 1st February this year that the Briton would be leaving Mercedes at the end of this campaign, his 12th and year last racing for the Silver Arrows, before joining Ferrari on a multi-year deal.
Hamilton had let his long-time team boss Wolff know of his decision before it became public, the two meeting for their usual pre-season coffee.
However, the next day he had a paintball session with some of his team and they didn’t need words to let him know what they thought of his decision to leave.
“The first meeting with Toto at the beginning of the year was awkward of course, it was awkward from the get-go,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com, on the eve of his final Grand Prix with Mercedes.
“The day after when I took some of the team paintballing and they’d just found out. I mean, there’s been loads of moments through the year.”
“I got lots of shots, loads of bruises, people went in on me that day,” he joked.
“I think ultimately, I definitely anticipated it would be difficult, but massively underestimated how difficult it would be.
“It was straining on the relationship very early on, took time for people to get over it, get past it.”
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Lewis Hamilton: I’m human and I don’t always get it right
But it wasn’t just the team who had to adjust, Hamilton admitting that this season has been an emotional year.
Although he went into the campaign hoping that Mercedes W15 would allow him to fight for the World title and end his time with the Brackley squad on a high, it was evident early in the season that it was not to be.
Hamilton did manage to break his 945-day winless streak with a victory at the British Grand Prix before bagging a second in Belgium. However, the highs in 2024 have been overshadowed by the lows with the Briton not holding back in his criticism of his final Mercedes F1 car.
He concedes he hasn’t always dealt with that as well as he should’ve.
“Then just from my own self, it’s been a very emotional year for me, and I think I’ve not been at my best in handling, dealing with those emotions,” he continued.
“And I think this year, I think you’ve all seen the worst of me and you’ve seen the best of me, and I’m not going to apologise for either, because I’m only human and I don’t always get it right.
“Definitely would say this year one of the worst in terms of having that from my side, which I’ll work on trying to be better at. But the good and the highs far outweigh the negatives and how I’ve handled it or behaved.
“I just remember the good times, built some incredible relationships. When you go through a season together with so many people, not only on those race weekends you’re riding the highs and lows together, but in their personal lives, through marriages, through divorces, through loss of family members, through cancer, through all sorts, you’re going through these journeys with these people so it’s a really beautiful journey you go on together. And being that was so long, the emotions run so deep.”
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