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LEWIS HAMILTON LEFT MERCEDES ON A HIGH LAST MONTH AFTER AN INCREDIBLE 12-YEAR STINT WITH THE SILVER ARROWS, MAKING SURE TO PROVIDE A FITTING PARTING GIFT FOR HIS FORMER COLLEAGUES HARRY

SMITH 08:54, 08 Feb 2025 Before his move to Ferrari was finalised, Lewis Hamilton showed his gratitude to the Mercedes team by commissioning a special gift for all 3,000 members. The British

F1 legend, whose 12-season stint with the Silver Arrows yielded six Drivers' Championship titles and contributed to eight Constructors' Championship victories, ordered a painting

of his car from the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. This particular race marked his third victory in Monaco and held sentimental value as it came shortly after the passing of Niki Lauda, with the

team honouring the late racing icon with a red halo on their cars. Hamilton's farewell gesture followed an emotional build-up to his last race with Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

in December, where he overtook teammate George Russell on the final lap to secure fourth place, showcasing his renowned resilience and providing a poignant conclusion to his era at Brackley.

The commissioned artist, Paul Oz, revealed the artwork in a now-removed post, stating: "Now that it's public knowledge and all 3,000 Mercedes GP employees have received their

prints of this, I can talk about it. Commissioned by Lewis himself as a departing present for everybody at Mercedes... class act! " He added, "My only remit was that I should focus

on the car rather than Lewis, and so I chose to paint an image from Monaco 2019, just a few days after Niki Lauda passed, and the team ran a red halo to remember Niki. Lewis stuck it on

pole and then dominated the race." Hamilton's name has become one of the most recognisable in Formula One history, but it looks set to change in future. Article continues below In

2022, he revealed that he was in the process of legally changing his name to include his mother's maiden name, Larbalestier, as a middle name, explaining: "None of you might know

that my mum's [sur]name is Larbalestier. And I'm just about to put that in my name. "Because I don't really fully understand the whole idea of why, when people get

married, the woman loses her name. I really want her name to continue on with the Hamilton name." As of 2025, however, it is unclear whether Hamilton has actually successfully changed

his name yet or not and whether he plans to race with it.