The seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton’s time with Mercedes is drawing to an end. Has he already given up on the season before moving to Ferrari?
With 27 points after six races, Lewis Hamilton is having one of his worst starts to a Formula 1 season. This is a sharp decline in form for the seven-time world champion and the outcomes he is used to. After the current season, Hamilton will leave Mercedes and start a new chapter at Ferrari in 2025, where he will have a new teammate, manager, and surroundings. Hamilton has stated on multiple times this year that he is staying committed to his Mercedes project in an effort to finish his time there on a positive note.
However, there is little chance of obtaining any kind of fairytale ending if the first six rounds are any indication of the unmatched success he experienced from 2014 to 2020.
Hamilton’s best finish of the year came in Miami last weekend, where he finished in sixth position. In the first three races of a new season, Hamilton has only once failed to finish on the podium, with his 2009 campaign getting off to a catastrophic start. Despite improvements in the second part of the campaign, Mercedes’s chances of making such a turnaround this year seem little to none. Since the new technical restrictions were implemented in 2022, the Brackley-based team has been chasing the front of the field; Hamilton has not yet won a race with the current rules.
George Russell has been Mercedes’ lone winner throughout that time, while the team has fallen from its position atop the standings that it had for several years. After falling off the competitive ladder, Hamilton was faced with a new challenge at Ferrari. It appears that the Briton is just seeking to enjoy his last year wearing Mercedes colors, rather than moping around his lack of competitiveness.
The strategy and mentality were especially clear in Miami the last time around when he was put in a position to succeed against an unyielding Kevin Magnussen who would not give up during the sprint race in an effort to support teammate Nico Hulkenberg’s pursuit of points. The Mercedes driver was repeatedly forced off the track in a brawl that would have made any rival angry. With the exception of Hamilton, as it happens. Hamilton responded, “I think that’s pretty honest of him and pretty cool,” upon learning that Magnussen had insisted that the 35-second penalty he received for his driving was “well deserved.”
“The race went well, albeit there were a few moments where it was close. I’m really passionate about racing. And since that’s what it takes to function as a team, I wasn’t really annoyed or anything.” It is already possible to interpret Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes at the conclusion of the season as an admission that he is unlikely to win another world championship there.
Even while it was always understood that the on-track relationship would eventually terminate, both parties undoubtedly hoped for a more prosperous endeavor to complete the historic partnership.
But instead of getting upset about his current situation, Hamilton is adopting a carefree mindset to savor his last few months as a Mercedes driver before switching to Ferrari. Although Ferrari is also catching up, Hamilton is experiencing an exciting moment as he prepares to take on a more difficult challenge later in his Formula One career.
In previous years, Mercedes held such a dominant position in the running order that it was unthinkable that Hamilton would rarely finish on the podium.
That’s the situation he finds himself in right now, and he appears to be further away than ever from topping the podium in Mercedes’ third straight season of misery.
Given how crucial victory and success are to Hamilton, one could debate whether or not he has “given up” on the 2024 campaign, thereby accepting the situation. If that’s the case, he’s right to refrain from making himself feel hot or uncomfortable about something that’s beyond of his control.
In any case, the season will always be remembered as unique since it ends a collaboration that helped shape him into the force he is today.
Is there any reason to ruin it?
