Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff stroll through the Mercedes AMG F1 collection and reminisce their decade of dominance.
Arguably the most successful driver/team pairing in the history of Formula 1 is coming to an end. The mark that Lewis Hamilton leaves on Mercedes AMG Formula 1 is legendary. The fans – and record books – will speak of their dominance for many decades to come. All things come to an end though, and Hamilton’s switch to another team next year marks an end of an era.
As a thank you, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 had Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff take a stroll down memory lane. Inside this collection – which houses every single part and component the F1 team has ever made – the two reminisce about the highs and lows. They discussed each car, going over details such as wings and their complexity, barge boards and their “furniture” and how the size and shape of cars have grown over the years.
It’s also easy to see why some cars are more memorable than others. Fast cars create smiles, but finicky cars create legendary drives. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t always easy getting gold trophies in the ultra competitive series of Formula 1.
When coming up to one car, Wolff noted, “we called this one Diva, I wanted to call it differently, but settled on a more elegant name.” Hamilton added the car “never wanted to do what we wanted it to do.”
The stark contrast between cars is evident, too, especially seeing them side by side. The V6 turbo era has been around for a while, but bodywork rules meant cars used to be much shorter, and taller. And then there’s the iconic switch to Mercedes running a car in black livery. And just as the cars have evolved, so have Hamilton’s helmet designs, each with a style unique, but as recognizable as Hamilton himself.
But more importantly, Hamilton helped build the team to where it is today. “None of this was here when we started,” Wolff notes. And for the F1 fans among us, it seemed like an incredibly risky move for Hamilton to leave the successful McLaren F1 team at the time, and move to Mercedes which had essentially no history at all. But the proof is that Hamilton couldn’t have made a better choice.
While the British driver will wear red for the 2025 season, we too enjoy thinking back of the overwhelming success that he brought to the team, and immense frustration he brought to competitors. As a final parting note, Wolff states, “We will carry on these practices, that is the legacy you have given us.”
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