Official! Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to part ways at the end of the 2024 F1 season

It's finally official as Mercedes has announced that the team will part ways with Lewis Hamilton at the end of the 2024 F1 season. A development that has rocked the Formula 1 world, the association that began in 2013 will come to an end after this year.

It has been a very successful stint for Lewis Hamilton as he won as many as 6 world titles with Mercedes during the dominant years from 2014 to 2020. The driver controversially lost what would have been his record 8th world title in the last race of the 2021 F1 season leading to the beginning of a lean period that continues still.

Lewis Hamilton has not won a race in the last two years and the team has found it hard to stay competitive at the front of the grid. The press release from Mercedes mentioned what was an end to a 17-year relationship with the brand and an 11-year relationship with the works team. The release stated:

"The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and Lewis Hamilton will part ways at the end of the 2024 season. Lewis has activated a release option in the contract announced last August and this season will therefore be his last driving for the Silver Arrows. The news brings an end to what is currently a 17-year long relationship in F1 with Mercedes-Benz and an 11-year long partnership with the works team."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff commended Lewis Hamilton for becoming the most successful driver in F1 while driving for the team. He accepted Hamilton's decision to seek a fresh challenge and focused on delivering the best result for the team this season. He said:

“In terms of a team-driver pairing, our relationship with Lewis has become the most successful the sport has seen, and that’s something we can look back on with pride; Lewis will always be an important part of Mercedes motorsport history. However, we knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come."

He added:

"We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate. But for now, we still have one season to go, and we are focused on going racing to deliver a strong 2024.”

---

Lewis Hamilton stresses taking on a new challenge

Lewis Hamilton thanked the team for the success that they achieved together in his statement. The driver stressed that looking for a new challenge was the motivation behind joining Ferrari as he said:

“I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I'm so proud of what we have achieved together. Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. It's a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. But the time is right for me to take this step and I'm excited to be taking on a new challenge."

He added:

"I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish on a high together. I am 100% committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my last year with the Silver Arrows, one to remember.”

Lewis Hamilton will be moving to Ferrari where he will team up with Charles Leclerc for the 2025 F1 season.