Lewis Hamilton “in the mix” as “very surreal” Mercedes F1 farewell begins

Mercedes driver talks final Friday of 2024 in Abu ♛D🅘habi

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1, 2024 F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1, 2024 F1 Abu Dhabi GP
© XPB Images

Lewis Hamilton belie🎶ves he is “in the mix” at the 2024 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but admits Friday p🤪ractice was “very surreal” ahead of his Mercedes farewell.

The seven-time 🐬world champion will leave the Mercedes team at the end of this weekend having joined the squad in 2013 to begin F1’s most dominant partners🔯hip.

Hamilton ended 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Friday in Abu Dhabi in👍 strong form, putting his Mercedes fifth, albeit around six tenths off the fastest time♒, and showing well in race running.

But,🐼 on the backdrop of his Mercedes farewell, Hamilton admitted it was a “very surreal” final Friday of the season.

“It felt better today,” he told Sky Sports F1 when asked about his ꦚcar’s performance in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s not been such a bad day. Ver🔯y surreal, and I’ve just tried to be really as present as I can be today and just enjoying every moment.

“So, from arriving, to seeing the engineers and🐭 really just taking moments and really capturing them as much as 💯I can, and then to getting ready and getting in the car.

“I’ve really enjoyed the day, I’ve really enjoyed driving the caܫr today and working with the guys in the garage and the engineers. We’ve got some work to do.

“The McLarꦕen’s are still so fast, as is Ferrari, but we’re in the mix kind of but have got to find some time.💦”

Hamilton says he has been💃 “trying to channel” his emotion ovᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚer his Mercedes exit in improving the car.

“There’s no trick to it, I’m tryꦛing to keep my emotions as under control as I can,” he add🎐ed.

“As I said yesterday I’ve not been great at it this🅰 year, I’ve defiꦗnitely been very up and down.

“It’s human emotion, tha🌳t’s normal. But I’m really just trying to channel it into the car, into the s💫quad. I have so much love for the team.

“I’ve been wanti𝔉ng to do well fo🧸r them for ages, but one last go at it. We won’t change too much on the car tonight and hopefully tomorrow we will be there or thereabouts.”

On where Mercedes sit in the pecking order, Hamilton feels he is “a lot closer to the McLaren💫s” in race trim but needs to find more for the ti🎉me attack in qualifying on Saturday.

“I mean, it’s never that ea⛎sy to determine, but I think our lon🌳g run pace didn’t look too bad today,” he said.

“So, I would say that was the big ෴positive from today. I 🔜was a lot closer to the McLarens. On a single lap I think we’ve got some work to do.” 

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