Hamilton visits Mercedes for final goodbye

In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton visited Mercedes’ Formula 1 base to say a final farewell to the team he has driven for in the last 12 years.

In brief

Hamilton says goodbye to Mercedes

Hamilton thanked the team members who gathered at Mercedes’s High Performance Powertrains facility in Brixworth.

“I’ve been with this team, I joined in 1997 when my Formula 3 wins were powered by Mercedes, every single lap that I’ve done in Formula 1 has been powered by all of you here,” he told them. “The expertise of everyone in this team, the dedication and the hard work, you’ve given up so much time of your lives with a common goal to win world championships and win races.

“I know I have you all behind me, and it’s been an amazing journey. What a dream. I believe in you. I’ll continue to believe in you, and when you do have that success, I’ll be so proud of you.”

Bennett gets full F2 campaign

GB3 championship runner-up John Bennett, who replaced Enzo Fittipaldi for the final four races of the Formula 2 season, will remain in the series with Van Amersfoort racing next year.

“His progression through the final rounds of the 2024 season demonstrated his ability to quickly adapt in challenging conditions,” said team principal Brad Joyce. “The team is certain that he is ready for this next step.”

Moto GP boss expects EU to approve deal

Carmelo Ezpeleta, the CEO of Moto GP rights holder Dorna Sports, says he is confident the European Commission will approve Formula 1 owner Liberty Media’s attempts to purchase the series.

“We expect this acquisition to gain the requisite EU approval and are excited by the potential opportunity to work with Liberty Media,” he said. “In the meantime, we remain committed to our strategy to take the sport to new heights and continue our impressive rate of growth, further expanding our global fanbase of over 500 million.”

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