It was the perfect duo. The duo feared by all. The one that left nothing to its rivals, not even crumbs. A duo that can be compared to Schumacher-Ferrari. We are talking about Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. The seven-time world champion once again wanted to thank the Brackley team with a small gift for its more than 3,000 employees.
When the adventure began, back in 2013, no one could have imagined that they would rewrite all of Formula 1’s records. 84 wins, six drivers’ world titles, and seven constructors’ championships. No rival was able to break this dominance, which only ended with the introduction of new sporting regulations.
Since 2022, that perfection has been disrupted by the arrival of ground-effect cars. From the first year, the team led by Toto Wolff has never managed to find the right balance for what seems to be a car highly sensitive to even small changes. For two and a half seasons, car number 44 has not achieved any victories.
He returned to the top step of the podium last year at his home Grand Prix, Silverstone. With an exceptional race, Lewis Hamilton managed to bring Mercedes back to victory, holding off a furious Max Verstappen. At the end of the year, however, the wins were two: at the Belgian GP, George Russell was disqualified after the race, and the triumph was awarded to Sir Lewis.
According to reports, Lewis Hamilton left gifts for all the more than 3,000 employees working in the factory. But what exactly was it? The British driver reportedly commissioned the famous artist Paul Oz to paint a portrait depicting his emotional victory at the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix.
That victory, his third on the streets of the Principality, was dedicated to the late Niki Lauda. Each staff member received their own copy of the artwork, while the original is displayed at the team’s headquarters in Brackley.
The news was revealed by the artist himself in an Instagram post, later removed. “Now that it’s public knowledge and all 3,000 factory employees have received their gift, I can talk about it. Commissioned directly by Lewis as a farewell gift to Mercedes… a masterpiece!”
“My only task was to focus more on the car than on Lewis, so I chose to paint an image from Monaco 2019, just a few days after Niki Lauda’s passing when the team added a red halo in his memory. Lewis took pole and then dominated the race.”
Source: f1ingenerale
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