Lewis Hamilton says current struggles don't define his Mercedes journey ahead of final race before Ferrari switch

Lewis Hamilton states that the unsatisfactory results he's experiencing as he wraps up his time with Mercedes do not "define the journey" he has had over the 12 years he spent with the team.

The seven-time world champion is set to compete in his last race for Mercedes at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After this event, he will move on to join Ferrari for the next season.

In his second-to-last race with the Silver Arrows, Hamilton finished in 12th place, missing out on any points after a challenging 57-lap event in Lusail. During the race, he faced two penalties from the stewards—one for a false start and another for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. To make matters worse, he also dealt with a tire puncture.

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"Regardless of how this weekend turns out, I believe it doesn't capture the entire experience we've had. I'll make sure to put in my utmost effort," Hamilton shared with Sky Sports F1.

Hamilton has had a tough time in qualifying lately, as he hasn't reached the top five in his last five races. In two of those events, he didn't even make it into the top 10.

Usually, his Sundays have been much better, but this time things went wrong. When he learned about his penalty for speeding in the pit lane, Hamilton inquired with Mercedes about retiring his car, but they refused his request.

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"It didn't turn out as well as expected, but these things can happen," Hamilton mentioned.

"Please don't determine my worth based on the number of times I stumble; instead, I’ll rise again tomorrow and try once more."

The car and I haven't quite clicked. From the start, we were miles apart. We lacked proper guidance, and the vehicles were significantly different, making the driving experience less than enjoyable.

"I take full responsibility for today's mistakes, so I want to apologize to the team for the early misstep and the incident in the pit lane."

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Hamilton acknowledged that he isn't expecting a significant improvement in his performance in Abu Dhabi. However, he emphasized that his focus is more on how he approaches the weekend rather than the final outcome.

"I don't believe we're going to finish on a positive note," he said to the press in Qatar.

"It will come to a close, and what truly matters is how we show up and put in our best effort. I don’t expect this weekend to be significantly better than those we've experienced lately, but I’ll certainly do my best."

Approach it with modest expectations, and if you leave with a more positive outcome, that's wonderful. However, it doesn't change much overall. These recent races won't alter the progress we've made together.

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Russell: Mercedes' Speed Vanished Completely

George Russell, Hamilton's teammate, couldn’t take advantage of his pole position. He was pushed aside at the first turn by the eventual winner, Max Verstappen, followed by Lando Norris.

In third place, Russell was the first among the leaders to make a pit stop, but an unusually slow stop meant he came out into a congested area of the track, causing him to fall behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri, both Ferrari drivers, and Hamilton.

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Although Russell's chances of winning again in Las Vegas were dashed, he managed to bounce back to finish in fourth place after Sainz and Hamilton experienced tire punctures, and Norris received a penalty for not slowing down during yellow flag conditions.

"After the pit stop, I struggled to overtake Fernando (Alonso). I was maintaining a speed similar to that of Zhou Guanyu from Sauber," Russell shared with Sky Sports F1.

"The pace we had on Friday and Saturday completely vanished for both Lewis and me, so we need to figure out the reason behind it."

"P4 might have exceeded our expectations for the outcome."

Tune in to the last race of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, airing live next week on Sky Sports F1. The race will take place on Sunday at 1 PM. You can catch it by subscribing to Sky Sports F1 or by streaming it on NOW.