F1 royalty Lewis Hamilton breaks silence after his Mercedes exit - “Lot’s of turbulence, up and downs”

Looking back at the 2024 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton deemed the final year with Mercedes as a rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs. He recalled the emotional journey of bidding goodbye to everyone affected by his decision to move to Ferrari for the 2025 season.

The seven-time world champion is one of the most successful drivers to exist in F1. Since joining Mercedes in 2013, he has won six championships to equal Michael Schumacher's record and also hit the milestone of most race wins (105) by a driver. However, after the Silver Arrows' steep decline from the 2022 season, Hamilton switched to Ferrari.

Hamilton prematurely announced his decision in February this year. Hence, the 2024 F1 stint became a farewell tour. Meanwhile, after his final race in Abu Dhabi, he spoke to Channel 4 and spilled his true emotions. The Brit described the past year as challenging, via Planet F1:

“Lots of turbulence, lots of ups and downs with people that I’ve been working with for many, many years. Managing that was really, really, really tough through the whole year. There’s so many people and it’s affected everybody. To go through this low, turbulent time and then come back and get to a point here where love just comes through," said Hamilton.

Moreover, Hamilton had to manage the emotions of farewell while struggling to extract performance from the car.

"Beyond the upset and people [saying] ‘I can’t imagine you in red’ to now just [saying to me] ‘I wish you all the best, thank you so much for everything we’ve done’ and tears," he added.

Hamilton had a tough final stint with Mercedes, as his teammate George Russell beat him in 19 of the 24 race weekends' qualifying rounds. However, the 39-year-old succeeded in ending the longest winless streak of his career at his home Grand Prix in Silverstone.

At his last dance in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton beat Russell on the final lap to finish P4. He had a grand farewell ceremony shortly after, where teammates and officials shared final hugs and handshakes.

Meanwhile, Mercedes announced 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton's successor. He will pair up with Russell to form a young driver's lineup for the upcoming F1 season.

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Nico Rosberg claims Lewis Hamilton would be worried ahead of the Ferrari switch

Lewis Hamilton at F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - (Image Source: Getty)

Lewis Hamilton is weeks away from getting inducted into Scuderia Ferrari. However, his former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg warned him of uncomfortable circumstances. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Rosberg claimed that the 39-year-old must be worried ahead of the big switch.

Rosberg explained that Hamilton will likely land in hot water if Ferrari's car turns out to be the same as Mercedes' W14 or W15. If so, the Brit's relationship with his new team could take a hit, via Yardbaker:

"Now, he has two years at Ferrari, and he will 100% be very, very worried. ‘What if this form of mine continues, like, was it just the car at Mercedes, or was it something else? And what if this form of mine continues to Ferrari?'" said Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton is yet to test a Ferrari car, as he missed the post-season test round in Abu Dhabi due to prior commitments with his former team, Mercedes. Moreover, with the Christmas holiday approaching, the seven-time world champion's formal induction will likely be pushed to next year.