Lewis Hamilton may not have tasted victory in Formula 1 for a number of seasons, but that hasn’t stopped the Mercedes driver from breaking even more records in the sport before the inevitable come the end of the 2024 season.
As the chequered flag fell on a famous Ferrari victory in Monaco, Charles Leclerc and his team were rightly taking the plaudits and celebrating in true champion’s style.
The Monagasque driver had realised a lifelong dream of winning his home circuit, but elsewhere, the sport’s most decorated driver of all time (and Leclerc’s incoming Ferrari teammate) was quietly adding yet another record to his already incredible Formula 1 career.
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Lewis Hamilton accuses Mercedes and Wolff of favouritism
It hasn’t been the best of seasons for the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion since announcing his sensational switch to rivals Ferrari at the start of the year. Of course, Mercedes’ enduring problems have persisted for much longer than that, prompting Hamilton to seek a car capable of delivering his record-breaking eighth WDC title and cement his legacy in Formula 1.
In the wake of consistently inconsistent results, Hamilton has suggested that his teammate George Russell is benefitting from preferential treatment from Team Principal Toto Wolff and the Mercedes garage after Russell reportedly had exclusive use of a new front wing in Monaco.
“I’ve been driving the same through yesterday and today and the car was performing pretty well, the small difference between the two cars is that George has the upgraded front wing so that created a performance difference, particularly in the high speed but for some reason as we got to qualifying, I had no more.”
Lewis Hamilton: Record Breaker
It’s since been confirmed by a Mercedes race engineer that Hamilton had declined the part, but his recent revelation speaks to a potential rift forming between the outgoing driver and the team where he had previously enjoyed the most success in his career… where have we seen this before?
But amid all the ongoing chaos at Mercedes, Hamilton has still quietly performed his duties, securing the Fastest Lap Award at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix to surpass a 12-year-old record of 53, set by the legendary Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher.
There’s no way to tell how the Mercedes meltdown will play out for the rest of the season, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see both parties planning for the inevitable divorce come the end of the season. Let’s just hope it’s amicable.