7-time F1 champ seeks capper to Mercedes career in Las Vegas

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton had a forgettable Sao Paulo Grand Prix earlier this month.

The Mercedes driver didn’t make it out of the first round of qualifying in Brazil, then struggled to a 10th-place finish in the race Nov. 3. He let his frustrations be heard on the radio, venting to his team about whether he would finish the season with Mercedes ahead of his move to Ferrari next year.

“If this is the last time I get to perform it was a shame it wasn’t great, but (I am) grateful for you,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton is in Las Vegas with his Mercedes team for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The race is at 10 p.m. Saturday on the 17-turn, 3.8-mile course around the Strip.

Hamilton was the fastest in both practice sessions Thursday night. He posted a time of 1 minute, 35.001 seconds, in the first session, then went faster in the second session with a lap of 1:33.825.

Even Hamilton was taken aback by the pace of his Mercedes.

“Difficult to know exactly where we are or why we are where we are, but really enjoying driving the track, and I think we’ll see whether the car is the same,” Hamilton told F1 TV after the practice sessions.

“The race pace is not that great, so the work we have to do overnight is to figure out how to have better race pace without losing actual pace throughout the lap.”

Hamilton was sixth in the third practice session Friday at 1:34.341. His Mercedes teammate, George Russell, was first at 1:33.570.

‘I’m standing strong’

Hamilton’s time with Mercedes is winding down after racing with the team for the past 12 years of his 18-year F1 career.

“I think he and us as a team have been really doing well at holding on to working together,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Thursday. “He announced that he’s going to Ferrari at the beginning of the year, and I’m quite proud of what we have achieved to maintain the professional relationship like we are.”

This season, Hamilton snapped a 56-race winless streak when he won the British Grand Prix in his home country July 7 and then picked up his second win of the season at the Belgium Grand Prix on July 28. But the year has been filled with ups and downs, as was evident in Brazil.

“It’s frustrating when you have a season like this, which I’m pretty sure I won’t have again, or at least I’ll work toward not having again,” Hamilton told F1 TV on Wednesday. “It wasn’t a great feeling in that moment, but I’m here, I’m standing strong, and I’m going to give it absolutely everything for the last few races.”

Wolff didn’t mince words on the team’s failure to give Hamilton a car that can contend for the championship. Hamilton is seventh in the points standings, which would be the lowest finish of his career.

“If we are able to give him a quick car, he’s able to win, he’s able to fight for a championship,” Wolff said “But we’ve failed in doing so.”

‘It’s a part of life’

Wolff said he didn’t read too much into Hamilton’s comments after Brazil. He said he knows Hamilton wears his “heart on the sleeve” and added that he and Hamilton talk often to make sure they’re on the same page.

“I think (Brazil) was such a bad experience for him, that whole race weekend, and particularly Sunday, that there’s something that in a way wasn’t unusual,” Wolff said Thursday. “Now, this time was probably particularly bad.”

There are only three races remaining in Hamilton’s Mercedes career. Hamilton said he’s in the “best place all year mentally” and that still racing and battling for wins is “enough” of a statement he needs to make.

“This year, it’s not that it’s unlucky, it’s just a part of the learning process. And through it you learn resilience, and it’s a part of life,” Hamilton said Wednesday. “From a driver’s perspective, I’m not looking for luck. I put in the work and deliver and show up and give it everything. Whatever the result will be, it’s supposed to be.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.