Lewis Hamilton says it “would be a dream” if he was able to finish his time at Mercedes on a high with a championship challenge in 2024.
Mercedes launched its 2024 car — the W15 — on Wednesday, with Hamilton and teammate George Russell both carrying out filming duties during a shakedown in wet conditions (pictured above). The car will be Hamilton’s last as a Mercedes driver before his switch to Ferrari, and he says he is determined to ensure he’s in the best possible shape to try and add to his record number of wins with the team.
“I feel the most motivated and focused I’ve ever been,” Hamilton said. “Every year you come back and you are like ‘I’m fitter than ever’ and all these different things. But I generally feel I put more work and more time and more focus into preparation this year.
“I never thought at this point in my life that I’d have hunger like I do right now. And to finish on a high with the team would be a dream. We’ve gone through a whole heap together, so to finish on a high, it would be the greatest honor to be able to help them get back to the top.”
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The seven-time world champion admits it has been a tough few weeks since informing Mercedes he would be leaving at the end of the season, having originally joined the team more than a decade ago.
“Obviously been emotional — it’s very surreal to be here given I came here in 2013,” he said. “So 11 years with the team, starting my 12th, and it is such a privilege to work with a group of people where you see the work they’re doing over the winter — we go through this process over the last couple of years — you see a car come together at the beginning of the year, it’s the most exciting part of the season really.
“You see everyone’s launches; this is the first time I’ve seen the car come together as a whole, but to know everything that’s underneath the hood — which people won’t get to see but George and I will get to experience on the track — is exciting.”