Lewis Hamilton gives a parting gift to 3,000 Mercedes staff

Lewis Hamilton has sent a special gift for all 3,000 of his former Mercedes colleagues following his exit from the F1 team. 

It has been revealed that the seven-time world champion had a special artwork commissioned for his former colleagues after leaving the Silver Arrows.

Hamilton, who won six of his seven world championships during an illustrious 12-year stint with Mercedes, completed a blockbuster switch to rivals Ferrari over the winter.

The 40-year-old Briton wanted to leave each member of staff a special gift following his move.

Hamilton arranged for renowned motorsport artist Paul Oz to paint a picture of him during his emotional victory at the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton dedicated his third victory around the streets of Monte Carlo to the late Niki Lauda, who died shortly before that year’s race.

Each member of staff has received their own print of the artwork, with the original displayed in the team’s Brackley headquarters.

“Now that it’s public knowledge and all 3000 Mercedes GP employees have received their prints of this, I can talk about it,” Oz posted said in a now deleted Instagram post.

“Commissioned by Lewis himself as a departing present for everybody at Mercedes… class act!

“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 then dominated the race.”

Hamilton is currently in the middle of an extensive pre-season testing programme in preparation for his debut F1 season with Ferrari.

He will partner Charles Leclerc to form arguably the strongest driver line-up on the 2025 F1 grid.

Hamilton is aiming to win a record-breaking eighth world title with Ferrari, a feat which would see him move clear of the great Michael Schumacher in the all-time history books.