Hamilton “massively underestimated” how hard final Mercedes season would be

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he underestimated simply how troublesome his last season with Mercedes can be from an emotional viewpoint.

The seven-time world champion revealed at the beginning of the yr that he can be leaving the German producer for Ferrari, ending what can have been a 12-year partnership.

Whereas it was hoped getting the information out early would enable Hamilton and Mercedes to place apart any future hypothesis and deal with delivering on observe, the marketing campaign has been more difficult than each of them anticipated.

Hamilton has confessed forward of his last race weekend that from the second of the “awkward” dialog with group boss Toto Wolff to inform him he was leaving, issues have proved to be tense.

“I feel finally I anticipated it could be troublesome, however massively underestimated how troublesome it could be,” he stated. “It was straining on the connection very early on. It took time for individuals to get previous it.

“After which only for my very own self, it has been a really emotional yr for me. I feel I’ve not been at my finest in dealing with and coping with these feelings.”

Hamilton thinks that the dimensions of the difficulties he confronted in coping with it this yr meant at instances that folks noticed the worst of him.

“I feel this yr, and so a lot of you’ve got been right here my entire profession, so a few of you, I feel, you have all seen the worst of me and seen the perfect of me,” he stated.

“I am not going to apologise for both as a result of I am solely human and I do not at all times get it proper. I positively would say this yr’s been one of many worst by way of dealing with that from my facet, which I will work on attempting to be higher at.

“However I hope the great and the highs far outweigh the negatives and the way I’ve dealt with it or behaved.”

Whereas latest outcomes haven’t been what he nor Mercedes needed, Hamilton says he’ll depart the group on Sunday solely with recollections of the highs.

“I simply bear in mind the great instances,” he added. “I’ve constructed some unbelievable relationships.

“We have gone via [so much]. When you think about, whenever you’re going via a season along with so many individuals, not solely on these race weekends the place you are driving the highs and lows collectively, however of their private lives, via marriages, via divorces, via lack of members of the family, via most cancers, via all kinds.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05, celebrates

Picture by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Photographs

“You are going via these journeys with these individuals. So it is a actually stunning journey you go on collectively. And being that it was so lengthy, the feelings run so deep.”

Talking about what the abiding reminiscence of his 246 races along with Mercedes can be, Hamilton singled out their win on the 2014 Bahrain GP.

“I feel it is the grins, once we’ve had the success,” he stated. “I feel it is these moments.

“I bear in mind one specific engineer [Aldo Costa] at our win in Australia [actually Bahrain – ed] in 2014. I simply bear in mind him being in tears once we have been on the rostrum. It is these moments that I take with me. It is the feelings that we had in Silverstone this yr. It is all the great bits.

“Naturally, you principally bear in mind the great bits. I am simply extremely proud, but additionally simply so grateful to each single particular person, each which might be right here on the observe, but additionally again on the manufacturing facility which have simply labored tirelessly and been supporting me for all these years from day one.”