Mercedes AMG-Petronas photo
Finishing Mercedes stint on a high ‘would be a dream’ for Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton says it “would be a dream” if he was able to finish his time at Mercedes on a high with a championship challenge in 2024.
Mercedes launched its 2024 car -- the W15 -- on Wednesday, with Hamilton and teammate George Russell both carrying out filming duties during a shakedown in wet conditions (pictured above). The car will be Hamilton’s last as a Mercedes driver before his switch to Ferrari, and he says he is determined to ensure he’s in the best possible shape to try and add to his record number of wins with the team.
“I feel the most motivated and focused I’ve ever been,” Hamilton said. “Every year you come back and you are like ‘I’m fitter than ever’ and all these different things. But I generally feel I put more work and more time and more focus into preparation this year.
“I never thought at this point in my life that I’d have hunger like I do right now. And to finish on a high with the team would be a dream. We’ve gone through a whole heap together, so to finish on a high, it would be the greatest honor to be able to help them get back to the top.”
The seven-time world champion admits it has been a tough few weeks since informing Mercedes he would be leaving at the end of the season, having originally joined the team more than a decade ago.
“Obviously been emotional -- it’s very surreal to be here given I came here in 2013," he said. "So 11 years with the team, starting my 12th, and it is such a privilege to work with a group of people where you see the work they’re doing over the winter -- we go through this process over the last couple of years -- you see a car come together at the beginning of the year, it’s the most exciting part of the season really.
“You see everyone’s launches; this is the first time I’ve seen the car come together as a whole, but to know everything that’s underneath the hood -- which people won’t get to see but George and I will get to experience on the track -- is exciting.”
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
Read Chris Medland's articles
Latest News
Comments
Comments are disabled until you accept Social Networking Cookies. Update cookie preferences
If the dialog doesn't appear, ad-blockers are often the cause; try disabling yours or see our Social Features Support.