Lewis Hamilton’s time as a Mercedes driver isn’t over just yet, with his contract running until December 31st.
This explains why he isn’t representing Ferrari in the post-season Abu Dhabi test, as he wraps up sponsorship commitments for Mercedes before making the switch from Brackley to Maranello.
This marks only the second team change in Hamilton’s illustrious career, the first being his much-debated move from McLaren to Mercedes ahead of the 2013 season.
Interestingly, his final race for McLaren at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix shares some remarkable parallels with his last outing for Mercedes, exactly 12 years and 13 days later.
Hamilton’s final McLaren and Mercedes races
There is, of course, one key difference between the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix and the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Hamilton managed to finish the latter in fourth place, unlike his McLaren farewell, where a collision with Nico Hulkenberg forced his retirement.
However, starting with Sergio Perez’s early exit, the parallels are striking.
In 2012, Perez retired on the first lap after getting caught in a collision involving Bruno Senna, following a spin by Red Bull’s reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel. Similarly, in 2024, Perez retired on the opening lap after an incident with Valtteri Bottas, triggered by Red Bull’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen spinning and collecting Oscar Piastri. Both Vettel and Verstappen, interestingly, recovered to finish sixth.
Other coincidences include a British McLaren driver winning both races—Jenson Button in 2012 and Lando Norris in 2024—while the podiums were completed by Ferrari drivers. In Brazil, Fernando Alonso took second place, joined by Felipe Massa in the sister car. Twelve years later at Yas Marina, Carlos Sainz finished second, with the other Ferrari once again completing the top three.
