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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Links
Wehrlein to make Daytona debut with JDC-Miller (Sportscar 365)
'I’m currently recovering from my accident in Sao Paulo. But I want to get back to full speed in January.'
Supportive of IndyCar, Reinbold still has full-time goal (IndyCar)
'Obviously, we're pointing at 2027 as a bit of a reset (if) there's going to be new cars, new engine programs coming in. We want to look toward being part of that.'
Hamilton set to swap Monster for Celsius (Sport Business)
'Lewis Hamilton is close to signing a commercial agreement with energy drink brand Celsius as the curtain falls on his long-running association with Monster Energy.'
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Not confirmed yet but I understand Hadjar wants to race as number six when he makes his Formula 1 debut next year:
bsky.app/profile/race…
#F1
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine.bsky.social) 20 December 2024 at 10:30
So pumped that they're bringing back the iconic IROC series, when we used to be able to answer the question of who was the best of the best! I recently acquired this Cale Yarborough/Darrell Waltrip IROC car that won at Riverside, the racetrack I grew up going to. Can’t wait to… pic.twitter.com/hx5G0fgdbc
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) December 20, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
New Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar already has his fans:
I was waiting for this piece of news, and I am so chuffed! I love Hadjar, and I think he’s eventually going to be a brilliant F1 driver, and also a fantastic addition to the grid because of his addictive personality.
I’m so happy!
@Shimks
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Dan M, Huhhii and Tony Hamilton!
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
21st December 2024, 3:08
Regarding Bennett’s promotion to F2, the successes of Antonelli and Dürksen I think will put FIA F3 out of business.
So expect another superlicence points change where the points awarded to F3 are hiked and other series like GB3 and Eurocup have their points be nerfed.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st December 2024, 6:24
Latifi is the last driver to use #6 & the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP proved to be his last outing in F1, so two full seasons have passed since, albeit not yet two full years (2023 & 2024), but #6 will become available for next year anyway, meaning that Bearman will appear at the very bottom in the default live timing appearance order for practice sessions as well as other occasions where full-time drivers appear in number order.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
21st December 2024, 8:48
Thanks Jere – I was going to ask if there is any significance to the number choice.
I don’t tend to remember stuff like this even though I find it interesting ;)
Jere (@jerejj)
21st December 2024, 16:06
The only significance, if anything, is that Nico Rosberg is the first #6 user since the selection system’s 2014 inauguration.
Simon
21st December 2024, 22:08
“so two full seasons have passed since, albeit not yet two full years (2023 & 2024)”
Do you actually read this back before clicking “Post Comment”?
My guess is no, a split-second after the last full stop at best…
El Pollo Loco
23rd December 2024, 18:29
You’re a pleasant fellow.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
21st December 2024, 8:51
Oh flippin heck Lewis!
It took me ages to decide which Monster drink I liked best with my Vodka.
Now I’m going to have to start all over again with Celsius.
Looks like I’m in for a few blurred weekends before the season starts :)
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
24th December 2024, 0:22
Thus Spoke Lewis Hamilton
PeteB (@peteb)
21st December 2024, 10:51
Yeah Lewis, I can confirm it wasn’t a dream so continuing to believe in Mercedes is the correct decision.
Unless it’s me dreaming and Lewis isn’t actually real… Nah, I’ll continue to believe in Lewis for now.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
24th December 2024, 0:20
When you understand the nature of the subconscious, and the role television plays in mediating attitudes and perceptions, you might come to a greater understanding of what you just said about yourself.
Moi
24th December 2024, 23:07
Do tell.
Never thought I’d say this to another man (presumably), but I’m genuinely curious to see how deep your rabbit hole goes.