Lewis Hamilton will bring down the curtain on his Mercedes career in Abu Dhabi on Sunday as his past and future Formula One teams, McLaren and Ferrari, fight for a constructors’ title to end years of waiting.
Even if Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured his fourth successive championship last month in Las Vegas, eras will end with the final chequered flag of the season under the Yas Marina floodlights.
McLaren, who took Hamilton to his first title in 2008 but were last champions in 1998, are 21 points clear of Ferrari, the sport’s oldest and most successful team chasing a first crown since 2008.
Whoever comes out on top will end a 15-year run where only Red Bull and Mercedes have won championships.
Hamilton, the most successful driver in the history of Formula One with seven titles and 105 wins, has been part of the Mercedes ‘family’ for 26 years but is joining Ferrari at the end of the month.
“This weekend is a celebration,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. “A celebration of everything that we have accomplished together.
“We will honour this unparalleled story in Abu Dhabi and across the following week as we visit Kuala Lumpur, Stuttgart, then finally Brixworth and Brackley,” he added, referring to the headquarters of sponsor Petronas and Mercedes and the two factories in England.
“And honour it knowing that, whilst this phase of our relationship is coming to an end, Lewis will always be a part of our family.
“For now, though, our full focus is on the race weekend. There is no better way to mark the end of our time together than with a strong performance on the track. The entire team is focused on adding one more highlight to the reel.”
Hamilton, twice a winner this season, can only agree after the low of 12th in Qatar last Sunday with two penalties and a puncture.
“I’m still standing, it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get back up,” the 39-year-old Briton said then.
