“Please drive the car, we know it’s bad”, said Toto Wolff on the radio as the Briton cribbed about the W14. But who would’ve seen 2024 being Lewis Hamilton’s last year at Mercedes? With the 7X champ’s 2025 destination set as Ferrari, Mercedes launched their W15 car and Hamilton has an emotional tribute for the Silver Arrows. 

The 14th of Feb is the day of love celebrated all around the world. And Lewis Hamilton seemed to be spreading his love for Mercedes in a rather special way at the W15 car launch. After McLaren, Mercedes also launched their 2024 car on Valentine’s. Hamilton, rather than starting the conversation by talking about the car, addressed the team and fans about the wonderful years he had at Mercedes. 

During the launch, he said, “It’s emotional and very surreal to be here. I came here in 2013, so 11 years with the team. It is such a privilege to work with people where you see the work done through the winter. We see a car come together at the start of the year, the most exciting part of the season. We’re seeing everyone’s launches, this is the first time I’ve seen the car [W15] come together as a whole. To know everything that’s under the hood, which people won’t get to see but George Russell and I get to experience on the track, yeah it’s exciting.”

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And while both Hamilton and Wolff are determined to have a great 2024 as the 7X champs’ last hurrah with the team, the news of the Ferrari move still seems a little unrealistic. Toto Wolff talked about the same during the launch, addressing his champion’s surprise move. 

“Last season with Lewis”: Toto Wolff keen on providing Hamilton a championship-winning car 

Mercedes was expected to turn up to the 2022 season with a beast of a car that challenged Max Verstappen and Red Bull for the title. Despite the car looking like a menace with the zero pods, the W13 was plagued with multiple issues. As a result, the last two seasons haven’t been as Hamilton hoped for, with the Silver Arrows nowhere near the pace of the leaders.

Toto Wolff said, “Very busy winter. Obviously it’s going to be our last season with Lewis. We’re keen on bringing a very quick car and in the factory, working hard to deliver the product that we shall see today. Let’s see how it goes,” He later added, “Super excited to start the car and realizing it’s a complete relaunch of a car, not only in the aerodynamic surfaces but mainly underneath, there are so many mechanical changes that we’ve done and hope is going to translate into more performance and more predictability, a car that drivers can push more.”

Read More: F1 News: Toto Wolff Publicly Admits Mercedes’ Flaws Following Lewis Hamilton Shock Exit

What do you think about the W15? Will it be able to challenge the RB20?