"Mercedes changed my life," claims Lewis Hamilton ahead of his looming departure

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton expressed his gratitude towards Mercedes for allowing him to become a Formula One driver as he opened up on his relationship to the German manufacturer.

Lewis Hamilton announced his shock departure from Mercedes on the 1st of February. The announcement caught the Formula One community by surprise as the seven-time world champion was set to race for the Brackley-based outfit until the end of 2025.

However, an exit clause in his contract allowed Hamilton to leave the team in 2025 if he wished, and the Briton elected to terminate his contract at the end of the current season and seek for a new challenge at Ferrari next year.

Hamilton is statistically the most successful driver in the history of Formula One, tied with the great German seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher on the number of world championship titles.

The seven-time F1 champion has achieved remarkable success with Mercedes, including 83 Grand Prix wins, 151 podiums, eight constructors' titles, and six world championship titles since joining the team in 2013.

Commenting on his achievement with Mercedes, Hamilton said: "I couldn't be more proud of the people that I work with in this team. I couldn't be more grateful to Mercedes.

"They've changed my life. They supported me at 13 years of age and then given me the chance to be an F1 driver for them and put their faith behind me for all these years."

Since the introduction of the ground-effect cars, Mercedes have struggled to match the field-leading Red Bull, and Ferrari and McLaren have also been quicker than the Brackley-based outfit in certain periods.

The dip in form meant that Hamilton failed to win a race for over two season, but with Mercedes having made inroads with the development of their car in recent weeks, the Briton was victorious in two races - at Silverstone and Spa - in a space of just three weeks.

Reflecting on these challenges, the seven-time F1 champion said: "We’ve gone through difficult times. There are good values.

"For us to go through the difficult phase and now fight for the wins, I’m proud of the work George and I are doing with the team. I'm really excited about the next few months that we have ahead of us."