We have known about Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes for nearly 10 months, so it must feel slightly surreal for the seven-time world champion to have finally reached the point where he has to say goodbye to the team he has spent 12 successful years with.

Six of his seven titles have been achieved with the Silver Arrows but Hamilton’s last few seasons with the team have been hard to take for a driver who has been used to dominating week in, week out.

He starts the weekend seventh in the drivers’ championship, 24 points off team-mate George Russell in sixth.

“It’s been a very emotional year for me and I don’t think I’ve been the best at handling my emotions this year,” said Hamilton on Thursday.

“You’ve seen the best of me and the worst of me, but I’m not going to apologise as I’m human.”

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