As Lewis Hamilton wraps up his impressive tenure with Mercedes, he’s contemplating his absence from the Abu Dhabi post-season test with his new team Ferrari.

The Brit driver is obliged to attend farewell media commitments for Mercedes, precluding him from testing with Ferrari. The Abu Dhabi event offers Formula 1 drivers and teams an invaluable opportunity to familiarize themselves with their vehicles.

Carlos Sainz (Williams) and Oliver Bearman (Haas) are already slated to make appearances for their respective new employers. Hamilton, however, finds himself in a unique position, unable to partake in such a pivotal experience due to his farewell obligations after 13 years at Mercedes, including a visit to PETRONAS’ HQ in Malaysia.

Weighing the benefits against the drawbacks of missing the test, Hamilton reflected: “Am I missing out on something? For sure. It definitely delays the process and makes the start of the year harder, but we’ll do our best to recover.”

He added: “Look, I know Fred (Vasseur, Ferrari’s boss) wanted it to happen. For me, I was in two minds. Driving the red car for the first time in Abu Dhabi does not excite me. In a perfect world, you’d get to drive it and not be seen and do the first rollout next year.

“When I did raise it, obviously with Toto (Wolff, Mercedes’ boss), they had all these plans that I’ve got to go and see some of the sponsors and say their farewells. So I don’t think it was ever going to actually be allowed, even if I’d asked to have done it.

Toto Wolff is rebuilding Mercedes without Hamilton

Toto Wolff is rebuilding Mercedes without Hamilton ( 

Image:

Getty Images)

“But because I’m contracted to the team until December 31st, and that’s totally fine. But it doesn’t bother me, again, because I wasn’t going to do the test. It’s not what I wanted to do. I told Fred that’s not what I wanted to do.”

For Wolff, the idea of Hamilton representing Ferrari before his Mercedes contract ended was a non-starter. “Fred didn’t ask,” he said. “I think it’s a difference also if you’re maybe going to Williams, but we have contractual agreements with sponsors.

“We’re having a farewell for Lewis. We’re having lots of activities that are planned. And him and I, we spoke about it shortly, and he said, I guess that’s not going to work. I don’t think it’s going to work. And that was the whole thing. So I don’t think Fred is particularly sad.”