HAMILTON'S LONG, SOMETIMES UNCOMFORTABLE FAREWELL TO MERCEDES

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This weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will mark the end of the longest and most successful driver/team partnership in the history of Formula 1. After 12 years, 246 races, 84 victories (85 if he can pull off one last miracle) and six drivers' championships, Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025.

For all the success Hamilton and Mercedes have achieved together, the partnership is ending on a slightly awkward note. Hamilton's decision last winter to leave Mercedes took the team by surprise and has resulted in a long -- and occasionally torturous - goodbye, in which Hamilton's ongoing struggles with the latest generation of F1 car have been laid bare.

Three races ago in Brazil, he expressed his desire for the season to end so that he can enjoy some precious family time over Christmas. At last weekend's race in Qatar he even considered parking his Mercedes when he was informed of a penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit during the race.

That's not to say everything has been bad in his swansong year. In July at Silverstone, Hamilton turned back the clock with an epic British Grand Prix victory, which also marked his first win since he lost the 2021 title in devastating fashion at Abu Dhabi. A follow-up victory came in Belgium (which will likely be his last with Mercedes), but only after teammate George Russell was disqualified for his car being underweight.

There will still be 24 days left on Hamilton's contract following Sunday's chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, during which Mercedes plans to give him a proper farewell to mark their historic partnership. When the goodbyes are complete, though, both driver and team will embark on new eras: Hamilton in Maranello and Mercedes by promoting promising 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the seven-time champion's replacement.

Fairytale endings are rare in Formula 1 -- even more so when they have been dragged out over a year -- but that shouldn't cloud all there is to celebrate about Hamilton's time at Mercedes.

- Laurence Edmondson, Senior Writer, F1