- Lewis Hamilton endured another frustrating Grand Prix weekend in Doha, Qatar
- The 39-year-old driver was competing in his penultimate race with Mercedes before leaving.
- The seven-time world champion will drive for Ferrari from the 2025 F1 season
The unhappy end to Lewis Hamilton’s life at Mercedes continued at the Qatar Grand Prix after the seven-time world champion rowed with his team and demanded to end the race early.
The future Ferrari driver was competing in his penultimate weekend of racing for the German manufacturer, with whom he won six of his seven crowns, equaling his record. But Hamilton’s farewell has been anything but serene, with recent incidents threatening to sour his farewell.
On Sunday, the Briton reacted badly after suffering a puncture and a speeding penalty in the pit lane at the Losail circuit and attempted to retire the car early, a request that was quickly rejected by his team.
His race engineer, Peter Bonnington, said on team radio: “We have a drive-through penalty in the pit lane. It looks like you forgot to press the button the first time behind the safety car.
Hamilton said: ‘Take the car away, mate. Park the car, friend. Bonnington responded: “Negative.”
The incident comes just weeks after the 39-year-old threatened to quit the rest of the season following a horror weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was involved in a fight with his team during a frustrating Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.
The seven-time world champion suffered a puncture and a penalty and demanded to retire the car early
Hamilton’s request was quickly rejected by his racing engineer Peter Bonnington.
‘That was a disastrous weekend, guys. The worst the car has been. Thanks for contributing to the attempt and doing a great job to all the guys at the pit stop.
“If this is the last time I perform, it will be a shame it wasn’t great, but (I’m) grateful for you.”
Hamilton will compete in his final race for Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next week before moving to Ferrari, where he will earn £50m a year. The sensational coup, confirmed in February, was made possible thanks to an “escape clause” in its £100m deal with the German manufacturer.
In Doha, world champion Max Verstappen took another victory after overtaking polesitter George Russell and crossing the line ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Oscar Piastri finished third. Hamilton finished outside the points in 12th place.
The weekend was also notable for the incredible war of words between the Dutchman and Hamilton’s team-mate, with the former sensationally claiming to have lost all respect for Russell and accusing him of being two-faced.
“He always performs very well here in front of the cameras,” said Verstappen, who was deemed to have impeded Russell in qualifying. ‘But when you’re there, you’re a completely different person. I can’t stand that.
‘I’ve been in that meeting room many times with people I’ve raced with. And I’ve never seen anyone try to annoy someone so much. I lost all respect.
“It was ridiculous how he tried to force a penalty and I was very angry.”
According to Marca, Verstappen also told Dutch media: “He better fuck off, I don’t want anything to do with him.”