"The memories will last forever": Lewis Hamilton shares poignant message after completion of the European leg of the 2024 F1 season

Following the conclusion of the European leg races, Lewis Hamilton shared a poignant post as his time with Mercedes winds down. Hamilton is racing in his last season with Mercedes as he prepares to move to Ferrari in 2025. Amid this, he shared a heartfelt post on social media about the place he called 'home' for 12 years.

The British driver has eight race weekends with the Silver Arrows before he joins Prancing Horse, and with the conclusion of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza last weekend, his time with the German giants on European soil is technically over.

As the seven-time world champion is all set for the switch, he will leave behind a legacy, and record six world titles he claimed during his 12-year-long stay. Reminiscing the good old days, Hamilton, from his official Instagram account, shared a story, summing up his feelings:

"Leaving Monza, it hit me that it was the last European race this year. The last time I’ll be in my room in engineering that’s been my home for 12 years," Hamilton wrote.

With a soft-lit and empty engineering room image from the Mercedes trailer, he further added,

"This is such a unique time in my life, one that continues to bring out a lot of emotions. What I feel the most is pride and gratitude. The memories will last forever, as will the memories I make next year,” he added.

Lewis Hamilton's story. Credit: instagram.com/lewishamilton

Lewis Hamilton signed a multi-year contract with Ferrari in February this year. He will join Charles Leclerc and replace Williams-bound Carlos Sainz on the Maranello-based team.

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Lewis Hamilton didn't enjoy his first title with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff, and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes in 2014. (from Left) - Source: Getty Images

In a recent episode of "Performance People", Lewis Hamilton said he did not enjoy his first title-winning season with Mercedes. The 39-year-old claimed his first title with the Silver Arrows in 2014, and according to Hamilton, it was far from enjoyable.

Hamilton competed against Nico Rosberg, his then-teammate at the Brackley-based team, in a field entirely dominated by them. The #44 driver claimed 11 victories, and Rosberg claimed 5 out of 19 races. Talking about his first title-winning season, Hamilton said (as quoted by "PlanetF1"):

“I was competing with my team-mate. He was tough to beat, but in general you would always prefer that you’re competing with several teams. That’s what the sport should be doing. More often than not, that’s not the case, but I’m still grateful for it obviously. I think it was until 2015 that I was really, really able to properly enjoy it. The first one I didn’t enjoy because it was just – I don’t know – it just wasn’t a great time for me," he said.

Lewis Hamilton then went on to win the titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, and currently stands as the greatest Formula 1 driver, statistically.