Mercedes address impact of Lewis Hamilton departure: 'We had a phenomenal run'

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has addressed the impact on car development a year on from the departure of Lewis Hamilton, following a "phenomenal run" with the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton and Mercedes formed the most successful partnership in the history of F1, securing six drivers’ titles and eight constructors’ championships between 2014 and 2021.

However, the Briton opted for a switch to Ferrari at the end of 2024, a move that proved highly unsuccessful this year, with Hamilton failing to achieve a single grand prix podium.

Mercedes’ teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli was promoted to replace the 40-year-old and showed significant promise alongside the experience of George Russell.

With Hamilton’s exit, Russell assumed the leadership role within the Brackley-based outfit, a position Hamilton had held for the best part of a decade.

Russell taking on Hamilton’s role allowed Antonelli to adjust to F1 without the pressure of being responsible for car feedback and development, although Shovlin insists his communication about the car was very good.

Due to Russell’s natural transition into team leader, Hamilton’s departure had little impact when it came to developing the car.

Addressing the loss of Hamilton from a car development point of view, Shovlin told a select group of media, including RacingNews365: "To be honest, with George it’s fine. I suppose the bigger point is that we don’t really develop the car predominantly based on what the driver is telling us. 

"Most of it comes from simulations: you’re searching for downforce, you’re searching for certain balance characteristics that you know will deliver lap time, you’re trying to reduce drag, and you’re developing suspension characteristics that can put the car in a better aerodynamic window.

"So the vast majority of it isn’t the driver saying, ‘I need this,’ and us rushing off to try and find it. However, it’s very, very helpful to have the consistent element of George in the car. 

"He’s known these cars throughout this regulation set, so there was never really any worry about losing our way from a development point of view.

"And as I said, Kimi is great at telling you what the car is doing, so there was no area there that needed work. It was more that we had a phenomenal run with Lewis, with an awful lot of success, and he decided to try a new challenge at Ferrari. 

"We were always looking to Kimi as the future, and there was inevitably going to be a learning year. We were fully committed to that, and on balance, I think it’s gone well."