Lewis Hamilton has questioned whether or not he will be ‘missing out’ by not completing the post-season test in Abu Dhabi for new team Ferrari. The legendary Brit has farewell media duties to complete as his Mercedes career comes to an end.
The post-season test in Abu Dhabi gives drivers and teams a chance to get to grips with their machinery, and in 2024, several drivers will be using it to acclimatise to life within their new teams. Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman are among the stars already confirmed to be representing their new squads.
Unfortunately for Hamilton, he won’t enjoy such a luxury ahead of his switch to Maranello. The Brit must complete a farewell tour as his 13-year stay at Mercedes comes to an end, including an in-person event at PETRONAS’ headquarters in Malaysia.
Discussing the pros and cons of missing the post-season test, Hamilton said: “Am I missing out on something? For sure. It definitely delays the process and makes the start of the year harder, but we’ll do our best to recover.”
He continued: “Look, I know Fred wanted it to happen. For me, I was in two minds. Driving the red car for the first time in Abu Dhabi does not excite me. In a perfect world, you’d get to drive it and not be seen and do the first rollout next year.
“When I did raise it, obviously with Toto [Wolff], they had all these plans that I’ve got to go and see some of the sponsors and say their farewells. So I don’t think it was ever going to actually be allowed, even if I’d asked to have done it.
“But because I’m contracted to the team until December 31st, and that’s totally fine. But it doesn’t bother me, again, because I wasn’t going to do the test. It’s not what I wanted to do. I told Fred [Vasseur] that’s not what I wanted to do.”
For Wolff, the thought of Hamilton representing Ferrari before the end of his Mercedes contract was out of the question. “Fred didn’t ask,” he said in Las Vegas. “I think it’s a difference also if you’re maybe going to Williams, but we have contractual agreements with sponsors.
“We’re having a farewell for Lewis. We’re having lots of activities that are planned. And him and I, we spoke about it shortly, and he said, I guess that’s not going to work. I don’t think it’s going to work. And that was the whole thing. So I don’t think Fred is particularly sad.”