Last Updated on January 29 2025, 11:09 am

Mercedes AMG F1 and Lewis Hamilton’s relationship will for now sit in the annuls of F1 history as themes successful pairing of its kind in the history of the sport. The British driver contributed significantly towards the teams shock and awe eight successive constructors titles with the all conquering Mercedes V6 hybrid turbo.

In return Mercedes handed Lewis the golden opportunity to overtake Michael Schumacher and make history himself with eight F1 driver titles. Yet in 2016, Hamilton allowed his team mate Nico Rosberg to get inside his head and one of those coveted titles was gone.

Then in 2021, despite the monumental efforts of the team to see Hamilton home to the Schumacher record breaking title, the team made a major error in the final race in Abu Dhabi by choosing track position over fresh tyres when a late safety car was deployed by race control. And the rest is history.

 

 

 

 

Hamilton’s failed Mercedes negotiations

Yet even the years of dominance and shared glory failed to prevent the separation of F1’s most successful pairing from descending into something of a niggling divorce.

During the 2023 season when Lewis’ and George’s contracts were up for renewal, a report published by SportsBlackBook in February clearly outlined Hamilton’s position on the upcoming deal. There was talk of a ten year Mercedes’ ambassador role paying $25m a year together with a driving contract that would see Lewis continue with the team into the new regulation era which dawns in 2026.

As each F1 weekend passed, the F1 writers and broadcasters persistently asked Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton how the negotiations were progressing yet the reply’s appears to suggest talks over a new deal were in there, with both parties separated by a gulf too big to bridge.

Come the final announcement of the deal in the Autumn, it was a strange affair lacking all the excitement and passion the signing of an F1 contract should bring. Hamilton even informed reporters “this will not be my last F1 driving contract,” almost as though he was unhappy with the length of the arrangement he’d agreed with Mercedes.

Hamilton called out on behaviour 1st day at Ferrari

 

 

 

The Silverstone highlight

The final contract was presented as multi-year for both George and Lewis, which usually implies a minimum of two years guaranteed, within which period if either party is in breach, financial penalties will be forthcoming to the other.

Yet in a matter of weeks come this time last year, Hamilton was announcing he was leaving Mercedes for Ferrari. Toto Wolff was caught off guard as Hamilton informed him the story was about to leak. The die was cats and the leg farewell between driver and team was to begin.

Whilst Hamilton had a glorious win at Silverstone he was fortunate given Mercedes looked to have made an error in tyre strategy as Verstappen honed in lap after lap on the seven times world champion with fresher rubber. Finishing less than two seconds behind the elated Hamilton, Verstappen would have taken the lead the next lap, as Lewis admitted later.

The victory on home soil for Hamilton was clearly a tonic and a far cry from defeatist attitude he displayed in Monaco. There after another beating in qualifying by his team mate, Lewis stated, “I don’t anticipate being ahead of George in qualifying this year,” and when asked why he responded with a smile, “we’ll see.”

Schumacher opens up over Michael

 

 

 

Would Hamilton have been sacked?

Lewis was proven almost correct as he finished the season 19-5 down to his team mate in qualifying and as the season appeared to drag on for Lewis, even his inherit win in Spa when Russell was disqualified appeared to offer little pleasure to the former champ.

Come Brazil, Lewis was beyond despondent and after the race gave the impression he may be done for the year and not be about to attend the final triple header of Grand Prix for the season.

Lewis was more appreciative of the Mercedes team in 2024 having lambastes them for failing to deliver a race winning car the previous two years. Hamilton even told the media “they did not listen to me,” when discussing the design of the Mercedes cars and the seat position. He also called for accountability and just a couple of weeks later the team’s technical director was transferred to ‘other duties.’

With hindsight, Lewis may have done Wolff and Mercedes a favour. Given his proclamations about losing to his team mate and having his worst ever year in F1, it cold well be that Mercedes would have decided time was up for the champion. Russell hammered Lewis across their three years together on all metrics bar total points scored.

Hamilton plays clever politics week 1 in Maranello

 

 

 

Hamilton’s rookie replacement

And so to Kimi Antonelli who has the biggest shoes to fill of any rookie driver in recent F1 history, if not ever. Described as the next Max Verstappen, Toto Wolff is desperate for him to succeed having passed up on an offer from Dr. Marko to recruit the current world champion before he joined the Red Bull family.

However, nothing is certain in Formula One. The young Italian is super quick, but so was Yuki Tsunoda in the junior categories and as has been proved, speed is not enough to make it in Formula One.

Now seven times Grand Prix winner and South American racing legend Pablo Montoya has had his say on the situation Mercedes are facing. “We have Kimi Antonelli on the other side of the coin, in the spotlight of one of the best teams, with a team-mate who is doing a great job,” Montoya is reported as saying by CasasDeApuestats.bet. “He is being sold as the next Max Verstappen.”

Reality of an imminent Verstappen race ban

 

 

 

Bottas new lease of F1 life?

With Valtteri Bottas being released by kick Sauber and Mick Schumacher, Mercedes top reserve driver, deciding his time in F1 is over, Toto Wolff snapped up the Finnish driver as the 2024 season drew to a close. Montoya believes there is method in what some believe to be madness given Bottas’ tenure at Mercedes and his ten Grand Prix victories.

“If he [Antonelli] doesn’t perform well, it will be difficult. In my opinion, with Bottas, Mercedes would be protecting themselves. He is the safety net to have someone in case it doesn’t work out with Antonelli, and he knows that.”

Yet with no other prospective talent on the horizon in the Mercedes academy Wolff will be desperate for the Antonelli experiment to work. It would be inconceivable he is ditched during the first half of the year, and with Mercedes in rebuild mode, Wolff may take the view the year is a write off anyway and use it as experience for Mercedes’ latest protege. 

2025 Mercedes driver contract intrigue

 

 

 

 

Hamilton gets to drive last year’s Ferrari F1 car

Formula One has changed beyond all recognition over the past two decades and in particularly its attitude to cars on track testing. With the majority of the teams based in the English motorsports valley, Silverstone was the preferred testing venue for those teams and most Wednesday’s during the European season, the sound track for the Northamptonshire countryside was the roar of V12’s, V10’s and even the later V8 engines.

In season testing was unlimited and the year before Lewis Hamilton debuted in 2007, he tested for 8,000km in the MP4/21, the current car for 2026.

In its early efforts to level the F1 playing field the FIA all but banned in season testing due to the massive spend by the bigger teams whilst those further down the grid could afford   way less…. READ MORE