Hamilton completed “a drive worthy of our incredible 12-year journey,” reckons Shovlin

In the face of an emotional race for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, the Brackley-based outfit’s trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin reckoned that the seven-time world champion performed “a drive worthy of our incredible 12-year journey.”

Having displayed a strong performance all through the Abu Dhai Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton endured a shock elimination in Q1 after a loose bollard got stuck under the front wing of his car.

Although he posted impressive sector times in the opening two segments of the Yas Marina Circuit, he lost a significant chunk of time through the last corners due to the loose bollard. It meant the seven-time world champion only qualified 18th, but he started from two places higher up on the grid due to penalties for Charles Leclerc and Alexander Albon.

On Sunday, Hamilton became the only driver to start on Pirelli’s hard compound in the 58-lap Abu Dhabi race, and while he had a slow start to his race, his car came alive in free air at the end of his opening stint despite running on degrading tyres.

When the seven-time world champion switched to the yellow-banded medium tyres, he started to display eye-catching pace which enabled him to go through the field, and ultimately make a fantastic overtaking move on his team-mate George Russell on the final lap.

Speaking of the season finale, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin noted that he did not fully understand why George Russell lacked pace all weekend, but the team will investigate his issues after the race.

“After yesterday’s challenges, we can hold our heads high in how we responded today. Starting from P6 and P16, we knew we would have a fight on our hands to score solid points and challenge for the podium. George, as has been the case all weekend, lacked that extra pace needed to battle for the top-three.

“That is unusual as he has been consistently fast this year so we need to go away and understand why that was. Nevertheless, he did a fine job to maximise points for the team and raced cleanly on that final lap with Lewis.”

Reflecting on Hamilton’s final race with Mercedes, Shovlin said that the seven-time world champion capitalized on his offset strategy, displaying an impressive performance in the dying stages of the 58-lap race.

“Lewis meanwhile completed a drive worthy of our incredible 12-year journey together. He used the offset Hard-Medium strategy to great effect, calmly and methodically working his way through the field, before deploying the medium compound in the final stint. He worked his way past multiple cars, dropped the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, and produced a great move to take P4 on the final lap.

“Whilst we would have all loved to have been on the podium one final time, a battling drive against the odds seems an apt sign off for our time together. We wish him all the very best for the future, knowing that he will always be a part of our family.

Reflecting on McLaren’s first teams’ title in 26 years, Shovlin noted: “It has been a long and, at times, tough season. We know there is more work for us to do if we are to challenge for championships once again. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth is focused on doing just that.

“Congratulations to McLaren and our colleagues at Brixworth on their Constructors’ Championship success. They have been the best team this year and are more than deserving of the title. We look forward to doing battle with them on the track next year.”