Motor racing - Hamilton says farewell to Mercedes with a champion's drive

ABU DHABI: Lewis Hamilton raced one last time for Mercedes on Sunday, Formula One's most successful driver and team partnership ending in a cloud of tyre smoke, a radio love-in and a performance worthy of a seven times world champion.

The 39-year-old Briton, who will be driving for Ferrari next season, arrived at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit on race day dressed in red and bowed out with emotional farewells flooding the airwaves.

"We dreamed a lot but together we believed," Hamilton said, after finishing fourth in a season-ender he started 16th thanks to a plastic bollard becoming wedged under his car in qualifying.

"Thank you for all the courage, the determination, the passion and everything in supporting me.

"What started out as a leap of faith turned into a journey into the history books. We did everything together and I'm so, so grateful to everyone."

Hamilton performed some smoking 'doughnut' spins for the crowd on the finish straight and then got out, huddled by the car and kissed it.

He embraced race winner Lando Norris who secured a first constructors' title in 26 years for his former team McLaren.

Hamilton's 12 years at Mercedes brought them together six drivers' titles, eight constructors' championships, 84 wins, 78 poles and 153 podium finishes.

Hamilton's own records extend well beyond that, with a first title for McLaren in 2008 -- the team also powered by Mercedes -- and his personal tally of wins now at 105.

Every lap the most successful driver in the sport's history has done has been powered by the three-pointed star of a Mercedes engine.

Fourteen seconds behind teammate George Russell with 15 laps to go, Hamilton reeled in his compatriot and passed him on the last lap.

As so often in the past, the call came from race engineer Peter Bonnington telling him it was 'Hammer time'.

"I think when he said it was 'hammer time' I was like, 'that's the last time I'm going to hear that'. It really clicked for me in that moment," Hamilton told Sky Sports television.

"I was just giving absolutely everything to the car. I wanted to finish on as much of a high and give every ounce of me to the team as they've given me all of these years."

Team boss Toto Wolff told Hamilton he would always be part of the family.

"Lewis, that was the drive of a world champion," he said after the finish, assuring the driver that Mercedes would be cheering for him on those occasions when they could not win.

The season has not been all plain sailing, with Hamilton frustrated at his car's performance and his own difficulties in qualifying.

He also admitted that the long goodbye to Mercedes had been 'massively' harder than he expected.

"It's a beautiful day, a very strange feeling," he said before Sunday's driver's parade around the circuit.

"I can't really put in words what I'm feeling at the moment but I think ultimately just gratitude."

Read the latest news here