One dance at Mercedes: Hamilton emotional about leaving

Lewis Hamilton seemed set to be a Mercedes driver until the end of his career, but in the off-season the Brit decided to try his luck at Ferrari from 2025. Other than a post on social media, the seven-time world champion has yet to comment on his switch anywhere. That changed at the launch of the W15, the car with which he will drive his final season with Mercedes.

Looking back on the last few weeks, Hamilton said those have: "obviously been emotional". "It’s very surreal to be here given I came here in 2013," the most successful F1 driver of all time stated. "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 winter."

Hamilton excited about the upcoming season

Hamilton mentioned - incidentally, as he did last season - loving how a car is finally developed from the drawing board. "It's the most exciting part of the season really. It's where you're seeing everyone's launches, you see that 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, it's exciting."

During the test days, Hamilton's focus will be on getting the team back to the position it was in for years. "I think we've had this difficult couple of years, which I think has been really grounding for us. It's helped us regroup," Hamilton said, before sending the W15 onto the Silverstone circuit for the first time.