Toto Wolff’s final farewell to Lewis Hamilton sure was emotional

McLaren, though, was a fading force when the late Niki Lauda, then serving as non-executive chairman of Mercedes, convinced Hamilton in late 2012 to join the team on the back of F1's impending engine rules changes for 2014. It was one of the shrewdest moves Lauda made, and the wisest call Hamilton opted for in his motorsport career.

Mercedes was all-conquering. As a pairing, there were 246 grands prix, 84 victories and six drivers’ championships. It ranks alongside some of the greatest partnerships in sporting history – Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls spring to mind.

The last three years have not been kind to Hamilton, who has struggled in the ground-effect era introduced in 2022, and which Max Verstappen and Red Bull have dominated.

It led to Hamilton's decision to sever his ties with Mercedes, and embark on one final hurrah in his career with Ferrari, which he says will be the fulfilment of a childhood dream. It sounds too romantic to be true.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, however, recently stated it was "a move that has been 20 years in the making.” Apparently, Hamilton declared his ambition in 2005 when he drove for Vasseur’s ASM team in the Formula 3 Euro Series.

So, here we are, two decades on. The impending sight of Hamilton in red next year will be a strange one after so many seasons either in silver, or more recently, in black. He will naturally miss Mercedes, and they will miss him. Earlier this month, there was one final address to the workforces of Brackley and Brixworth on, of all dates, Friday the 13^th.

"You guys are going to go and have so much more success moving forward because this is an incredible group of people," he said. "There's so much talent and so much passion here. Anyone would be lucky to be working with you.

"I hope that when I do eventually stop racing, I can come back and visit you all, and I know we can always look back on these fond memories. What a journey! There is no driver in the world that has had this experience with the team, and it makes it that much harder to let go. But I am taking with me the greatest memories.

“You guys have been living in my dream, and hopefully I have been living partly in your dreams, too. So, a huge, huge thank you from the bottom of my heart, and also my family thanks you for all the dedication all these years, so a big thank you everyone, and God bless you."

Hamilton, and others, shared images via Instagram and X of his departure in a Mercedes cabriolet, with a firework display as a backdrop. It was the last stop on his farewell tour that took in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a trip to Mercedes' long-time fuel partner, Petronas, in Kuala Lumpur, and to Mercedes' headquarters in Stuttgart.

Via Instagram, Hamilton wrote: "This is really it. After Abu Dhabi, after Kuala Lumpur, and after Stuttgart, it comes to an end here. This has been my home. To the thousands of people who work at Brackley and Brixworth, you have been friends and team-mates and I can't thank you enough for all the hard work and support. It's been real."

Whilst the past three years may not have gone to plan, Hamilton's pursuit of perfection was unrelenting. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes trackside engineering director, described it as "a phobia of losing that drives his work ethic.”

"He’s achieved such an amount that it all just becomes part of the team’s legacy,” Shovlin said. “When he arrived, the first thing you saw was the speed, the determination. Over the years, what has been almost endless is his desire and ability to reinvent himself over the winter, to learn from mistakes, to improve, to look for the areas where he would find another gain to beat his competitors. He just kept getting better and better for so long.

“Whatever the problem, whatever the conditions, whatever the limitation, he seemed to have a tool for the job.”

Mercedes sporting director, Ron Meadows, suggested the way Hamilton could "departmentalise his life” was remarkable. Over the years, Hamilton's portfolio of off-track activities grew, and he learned to switch between the two almost seamlessly.

“When he comes racing, he’s fully focused on his racing,” said Meadows. “Then you’ll see a social media post that he’s 12 hours away on a plane somewhere doing something completely different. He’s got so much going on in his life, and that’s what makes him special.

“When he’s at a racetrack, he’s all over it. When he’s at the factory, he’s all over it, but he knows when he can relax, and some drivers can’t do that. That’s probably the most unique part about him.”

The final word belongs to team principal, Toto Wolff. The Austrian and Hamilton developed a strong bond over their years together, that was severely tested when the latter informed Wolff in early January he would be leaving.

Over time they have come to terms with the fact they would each have to move on. Whilst many words were said over the departure over the past few months, it took a voice message from Wolff to Hamilton to sum up the meaning of the last 12 years, and of what lies ahead for both.

"Hi Lewis, I’m on the go, so I thought I’d better leave you a voice note – like always," said Wolff.

"Yeah, the moment is here, we all knew was coming. We’ve raced the last lap. The longest and most successful partnership in Formula 1 history. Who would have thought that when we started the journey? It’s been a crazy ride for a boy from Stevenage who had a dream, and who shared this journey with us at Mercedes.

“So, now you’re opening up a new chapter with Ferrari. But most importantly, remember one thing: find your people, not just the ones who work with you or sign your contract. Obviously, we know that's important.

"But the ones who dream with you, who fight with you, who have your back and your ear; the ones who stand with you and kneel with you; the ones who see you, including the parts you don’t want [to be] seen, who never stop believing, even when you do sometimes.

"Because when you find your people, you don’t just beat the world, you change it. And whatever the future holds, just remember, we will always be your people, because every dream needs a team. You know it.

"Take care my friend, see you on track. We are really looking forward to it."

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.