Hamilton a role model until the end after lifting team in Abu Dhabi

George Russell says his first-hand experience of Lewis Hamilton being a role model will be the overriding memory of his partnership with the Formula 1 great, right down to Hamilton picking up the team after a disappointing Abu Dhabi qualifying session.

Mercedes was keen to give Hamilton a fitting send-off as the seven-time world champion departs the team he represented for 12 years with unprecedented success to move to Ferrari.

While the squad had a range of festivities planned, which will continue this week, Hamilton’s Mercedes farewell tour looked to be derailed on track by being eliminated in Q1 after hitting a loose bollard thrown into the track by Kevin Magnussen.

The team still took responsibility for leaving Hamilton in such a vulnerable position in the first place, with an angry team principal Toto Wolff saying it was an “inexcusable, idiotic mistake of not going earlier”.

But with his crew left dejected, the 39-year-old made sure to lift morale in his debrief, and he was rewarded for that attitude with a flawless comeback drive from 16th to fourth that ensured he went out on a high.

It is that never-say-die attitude, right until his final race of a rollercoaster 2024 campaign, that Russell felt so inspiring about his illustrious team-mate.

“It’s been great, to be honest. As painful as these three years have been, seeing all of these memories reminds the team that we can do it,” said Russell. “We have the same team that was there during Lewis’ glory years. 

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1, 1st position, and the Mercedes team celebrate after having secured a seventh world drivers championship title

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“Lewis even said after the debrief [after qualifying], everyone had their head in their hands after what happened to him in qualifying, but he said: ‘Look, let’s stand tall and let’s not forget all these pole positions and wins that they’ve had together.'”

When asked what his overriding memories of working with his childhood idol will be, Russell said: “I think just actually seeing first-hand what a role model he is.

“I sort of recognise from Lewis that we’ve all got this platform and we have to use it correctly. And that’s become even more apparent to me when my young niece and nephews are watching TikTok and YouTube and Netflix,” he said.

“How you deal with the victories, how you deal with the losses – you inspire the young kids. Also this weekend, when I look back to that photo I had of Lewis and I when I was a kid, I looked up at him the same way as all these kids look up to us.

“So, I think that’s been probably the biggest life lesson that I’ve learned from him: sometimes, even if you want to really express something that’s got hundreds of millions of people watching, the way you do it is super important. It’s been a very nice way to finish this season.”