Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton said today that the situation seems “surreal” to him because he is entering his last season with Mercedes, since he will be moving to Ferrari from 2025.
Today at Silverstone, Mercedes presented the new W15 car, which the team hopes will be able to compete with the champion Red Bull.
Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013, with which he won six out of seven titles. He will leave the team a year early and from next season will drive for Ferrari, which is an unexpected transfer that shook Formula 1 and surprised Mercedes director Toto Wolff.
“It’s been emotional. It’s surreal to be here, considering I came in 2013, I’ve been with the team for 11 years and I’m starting my 12th and it’s a privilege to work with this group of people who have put in a lot of work over the winter,” Hamilton said.
Mercedes will test the new car at the Silverstone track, and the goal, said Hamilton, is for the team to return to where it once was”.
“We had a few difficult years, which were the foundation for us and helped us regroup,” added the British driver.
In addition to the long-awaited changes in the concept of the car, the team also changed the design with the traditional silver color of Mercedes on the nose of the car, with the green color of the sponsor Petronas on a black base.
Wolff said that a completely new design has been done, there are a lot of mechanical changes that he hopes will translate into more performance and predictability and make it a car that drivers can actually drive.
“This will be the last season with Lewis and we want to produce a fast car. We know that we have hard work ahead of us, climbing the mountain, in every field. There are no miracles in this sport, but our ambition and determination are strong,” said Wolff, “Sky” reported.
Last year, Mercedes did not achieve a single victory, which happened for the first time in the last 11 years, and in 2022, George Russell had the only triumph.
Hamilton and Russell will drive together in Mercedes for the third year.
Pre-season testing will take place from February 21 to 23 in Bahrain, and the new season will begin on March 2 with the Bahrain Grand Prix, Beta news agency writes.
