2017 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton given “Guard of Honor” welcome

With the 2017 F1 Drivers Championship over, even before the final race in Abu Dhabi, World Champion-Elect, Lewis Hamilton has been accorded the red-carpet treatment on his return to the UK. Hamilton, now a four time F1 Champ was first honored at the Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains(HPP) in Brixworth, home of the mighty Mercedes Benz power units. Afterwards, it was on to Brackley, home of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. Here Lewis was welcomed with a “guard of honor” as all members of the Mercedes family went out to celebrate the team’s, and Lewis’ 4th World Title

Three time F1 champ, and Non-executive Chairman of Mercedes AMG F1, Niki Lauda said “For the fourth time in a row I’m in the fortunate position to say thank you to the entire team. 2017 has been a challenging year because of the rule change. A rule change always means uncertainty; no one knows what the other guys are doing. We started with a difficult car, but the team was able to consistently improve it throughout the season, which was the key to winning the championships. The team did a fantastic job and Lewis did a fantastic job. I’m really proud of everyone, it’s an incredible achievement. This year was the most difficult one so far and next year it will be even more difficult, but I trust the team 100%!”

Meanwhile. Toto Wolff, Mercedes Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, who was likewise elated with this year’s results, said, “ Since I was fortunate enough to join this team in 2012, I have seen it go from strength to strength. I still see many of the same faces who were here when I joined, but also new faces as we have continued to build the strength of this group. We are fortunate to have the right resources, which isn’t always a given, but importantly we have the right people. We have a team that works together in the right spirit and the mind-set of success in Brixworth and Brackley. We have not allowed ourselves to become complacent, but remain motivated and energised. For me, I could not imagine working with a better group of people. I would like to say thank you very much to all of you.”

An finally, the man himself, Lewis Hamilton spoke to everyone in attendance; “This a very emotional day. I was not expecting this, thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Today is something that I will never forget, turning up at the front gate of the factory and seeing everyone out on the street to welcome me – I’m blown away. This has been an incredible year, it’s been an incredible journey together. There’s a huge amount of respect and appreciation I have for everyone. I’ve been in the sport for a long time now, but to see the work ethic in Brixworth and Brackley really inspires me. Every time I come around, I see everyone operating at 100%, which encourages me to bring my best performance. Thank you all for helping me achieve my dreams, it would not have been possible without you. This is the best championship year, because we’ve been fighting another team and because we’ve had the difficulties and challenges we’ve had – that just makes it so much greater.”