Lewis Hamilton enters his final weekend as a Mercedes F1 driver.
A few hours before the first free practice, these emotions, which he admitted yesterday to having sometimes had difficulty controlling this year, are under control in order to finish in style.
“Pretty calm at the moment. Feeling positive and excited to give it my all this weekend.”
“Every moment, like throughout the year, it was obviously the last time that I would race at this or that place with the team and I think that today, already from the briefings that we have eus, you sit there and you realize that these are the last moments with the team, which is…”
“It's hard to describe the feeling. It's not the best, of course, but I think what I'm most proud of is what we accomplished. And I'm so proud of this team.”
When he looks back on his 12 years with Mercedes, the 246 races, what will be his most memorable memory?
“I think it’s the smiles, when we’ve had success, it’s those moments.”
“I remember one engineer in particular, for example, I remember our first win in Australia in 2014, I think it was in Australia, and I just remember him crying when we were on the podium . These are the moments that I carry with me.”
“These are the emotions that we felt at Silverstone this year. These are all the good times. Naturally, we remember the good times the most. And I think that's just the… I'm just incredibly proud, but also so grateful to every individual, both here on the track, but also to the factory who have worked tirelessly and supported me all these years since day one.”
How different or similar is this moment to when he left McLaren at the end of 2012?
“To be honest, I don't really remember the… Obviously, I remember meeting Niki (Lauda). And I remember making that decision. But I don't really remember the last days , to be really honest.”
“I don't really know. I have very bad memories, as you know. It certainly wasn't as painful and difficult as this year in terms of emotions. And I think as it was a decision to the end of the year it was a lot quicker and there wasn't enough time for anyone, I think, on the team to really get used to it.”
“Yes, this departure is much more emotional because I have been with the team for so long and we have been through so much together.”
