Hamilton’s final race for Mercedes was strengthened by his 16th place on the grid, where he finished next. Unlucky in qualifying.
He was the only driver to start on the hard tires and used a reverse strategy to gain places in the first long run.
Rejoining from his pit stop on lap 34 of 57, Hamilton overtook Hulkenberg and Gasly, and with Verstappen already behind due to the Dutchman’s penalty, the seven-time champion was behind Russell. was in fifth place.
On fresh tires, Hamilton closed on Russell and started the final lap on his tail.
Hamilton closed down the two long straights and then used his better tires to fend off Russell on the inside of the young man after passing him around the long, fast turn nine.
It left Hamilton fourth as he bowed out after 12 years at Mercedes to end the most successful team-driver combination in F1 history.
On team radio, Mercedes and Hamilton congratulated and praised each other. Hamilton said: “What started as a leap of faith turned into a journey for the history books.”
Verstappen finished sixth ahead of Gasly, Hulkenberg and Alonso, while Piastri recovered from his first-lap clash with Verstappen to take the final point for McLaren to hit the back of Franco Colapanto’s Williams 10. Penalty of Sec.
