F1 champion Lewis Hamilton suffers huge demotion after team boss refuses

Lewis Hamilton has been ousted by Formula 1 team principals in a landmark vote for 2024.

The sevenfold world champion set to join Ferrari in 2025after ending his collaboration with Mercedes, which he led for 12 successful seasons.

F1 NEWS: Announcement of Hamilton's transfer to Ferrari, a strong statement on the seven-time champion.

Hamilton won six of his seven titles with the Brackley teamas well as 84 grands prix, thus consolidating what has become the most successful driver-team combination in history.

At 39, he added two wins to his tally during the 2024 season, but endured what could be considered the worst season of his career, finishing a modest seventh in the standings. pilotsbehind his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, who also dominated him in the qualifying sessions of the year.

Hamilton faces major disavowal from team bosses

Hamilton has frequently displayed a pessimistic outlook throughout 2024, even suggesting he could end his Mercedes career a few races early.

Despite the W15's obvious performance issues, Hamilton struggled to get the most out of it, ultimately finishing 22 points behind Russell in the standings, despite winning a race where Russell had been disqualified – accounting for a 25-point turnaround.

His disappointing 2024 season has been compounded by a demotion in a key award on F1's official website, voted for by team principals across the grid.

The 10 team bosses were asked to rank the drivers from 1 to 10, with drivers receiving a certain number of points based on their ranking.

For the fourth consecutive year, Verstappen was voted best by his peersscoring maximum points, meaning all 10 team principals named him as their number one driver.

His championship rival, Lando Norris, took second place, one place above 2023, but it was Hamilton who was largely ignored by team bosses.

The seven-time world champion finished in seventh place, behind teammate Russell and the two Ferrari drivers, falling two positions from his 2023 ranking.

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Good to know

• Lewis Hamilton has led the world championship for several years in a row.
• George Russell, his teammate, showed remarkable performances during the 2024 season.
• The 2024 season was marked by technical challenges for the Mercedes team.
• The team bosses' votes reflect the consensus on the drivers' performances during the season.
• Decisions regarding driver transfers are often influenced by the results of these rankings.