In a significant shift within Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season, concluding what has been the most triumphant pairing between a driver and a team in F1 history.
The celebrated British driver, who clinched six of his seven World Championships with Mercedes and broke records by securing over 100 pole positions and race wins, will be leaving the team that has been his home since he joined from McLaren at the start of 2013.
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Lewis Hamilton: Challenging Ferrari to elevate diversity
Hamilton’s tenure at Mercedes was marked not only by unparalleled success on the track but also by his and the team’s commitment to social causes.
During pre-season testing in Bahrain, Hamilton expressed his desire to continue advocating for social issues, specifically diversity, in his upcoming chapter with Ferrari. His discussions with Ferrari chairman John Elkann and F1’s chief executive Stefano Domenicali have been positive, laying the groundwork for what Hamilton sees as a critical area of focus for the team’s future.
“I’m immensely proud of the work that we’ve done within Mercedes.
“Since 2020, we’ve made some real great strides in improving the diversity within the team.
“For example, within HR, we’ve got a diverse HR group and that will continue beyond me, which is something I’m really proud of and I’m proud of the team for pushing so far ahead.
“I think we are ahead of every other team in that respect and there still is a huge amount of work within the whole sport, which I’m speaking [about] to Stefano constantly.
“I’m looking to work more with Formula 1 and, of course, you look at Ferrari [and] they have a lot of work to do.
“I’ve already made that a priority in speaking with John and they’re super excited to get on and work on it also.”
Hamilton has also committed to learning Italian in anticipation of his move to Maranello, though he emphasised that his tenure with Mercedes is far from finished, as he seeks to conclude the 2024 season on a triumphant note.
When questioned about his plans to learn Italian, he remarked, “In all these years, I’ve not managed to learn any other languages, but of course I will definitely try.
“I do remember when I was karting in Italy and I was able to pick up a few lines, so hopefully that will come back to me pretty quickly.
“But this chapter is still not finished, I’m still 100 per cent focused on delivering for this team this year and trying to finish on a high.
“That’s a big, big goal for me and the team and I have absolute faith in everything, everyone in the team and what we’ve done so far I think is great.
“So I really hope that we are somehow able to close the gaps to the Red Bulls.”
Hamilton is set to conclude a third consecutive season without a win in 2024, his last win dating back to the second-to-last race of the 2021 season in Saudi Arabia. A victory that happened just a week before he lost his championship title to Max Verstappen under contentious conditions during the notorious final showdown in Abu Dhabi.
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