Okay, Lewis, it’s Hammer time

Okay, Lewis, it’s Hammer time

This weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will not only be the final race of what has been a fascinating 2024 Formula One season but also the swansong of F1’s most successful partnership.

On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton will rev up his Mercedes car for the last time before ending a 12-year association with the German marquee that started in 2013. During this period, he clinched six world titles and became the most accomplished F1 driver statistically.

The Hamilton-Mercedes alliance was a marriage of convenience at a time when both parties needed each other. The British racer, who McLaren mentored from his early teens, was no longer happy at the squad that took him to his first world title in 2008. It was almost like the son had outgrown the need for parental guidance and needed to spread his wings to try to make it out on his own.

Meanwhile, Mercedes – which entered as a full-works outfit in 2010 after taking over 2009 champion Brawn GP – underestimated the challenge of F1, struggling to fight for podiums regularly for three years.

Its lead driver, Michael Schumacher, was a shadow of his old self. In late 2012, the manufacturer needed to make some hard decisions, and the German automotive major decided to invest heavily in facilities and people ahead of the new Power Unit rules for 2014.

At the same time, it needed a star name to lead the project in the post-Schumacher era. Mercedes advisor Niki Lauda and the then-boss Ross Brawn pulled off a coup by snatching a sulking Hamilton away from McLaren despite their crew having won just one race in three years (2012 Chinese GP).

The team’s early investments in the new hybrid Power Unit helped convince Hamilton to switch. After a moderate 2013, in which he won a race, things went into the ascendancy.

In 2014, when the cars rolled out for pre-season testing, it became clear that Hamilton had pulled off a masterstroke swap, as the Mercedes emerged as the clear front-runner. Over the next two years, Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosberg fought intensely, but the British driver had the measure of his long-time friend and rival.

Though he lost to Rosberg in 2016 by five points, from 2017 to 2020, Hamilton marched to four consecutive world titles, beating the Sebastian Vettel-Ferrari combi in ‘17 and ‘18 and then comfortably seeing off teammate Valtteri Bottas in the next two years.

This period saw him become the undisputed best driver on the grid. He showed excellent qualifying pace and married that with stirring race-day performances through a combination of natural talent and expert tyre management skills.

The fact that he could reel in a series of fast laps on demand—often on old tyres before a pit stop—whenever his race engineer Pete Bonnington came with the now famous clarion call of ‘Hammer Time’ to give him permission to drive the wheels off the car showed why Hamilton is considered one of, if not the best, athlete the sport has seen.

In 2021, Hamilton faced his first most formidable challenge in four years from Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Heading into the finale in Abu Dhabi, the duo were level on points.

On the opening lap, Hamilton pipped pole-sitter Verstappen in the first corner to take the lead and was set to seal a record eighth world title until the race’s final lap when all hell broke loose.

The race director’s wrong interpretation of the restart procedure following a Safety Car period allowed Verstappen to pass Hamilton on the last lap and take the title. The 39-year-old has spoken about losing faith in the system and how hard it has been to get over the heartache of that day in Abu Dhabi.

Since 2022, the three-pointed star car stopped being the force it was, and the last three years have been challenging for this combination. He has been unhappy with the car’s traits and upset that the team hasn’t listened to him as much, prompting his switch to Ferrari next year.

However, after a two-year drought, he returned to the top step this year, claiming another famous British GP triumph, followed by another in Belgium.

On Sunday at the Yas Marina circuit, when Hamilton closes his visor lid for the last time as a Mercedes driver, the Briton will want to put on a special show at the track that has given him joy and sorrow in his final hurrah in the Silver Arrows.