Lewis Hamilton opened up about an emotional moment at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that made it clear his time at Mercedes was coming to an end after an excellent drive from 16th on the grid to fourth.

A mix of traffic and a collision with a bollard in Q1 on Saturday evening saw Hamilton retire in the first part of qualifying in the last of his 246 appearances for Mercedes – the team with which he won six of his seven world championships – before his move to Ferrari in 2025.

READ MORE: Norris sails to victory in Abu Dhabi ahead of Sainz and Leclerc as McLaren secures the constructors’ championship

But Hamilton put the disappointment of his third Q1 exit in six races behind him with a good drive at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, using an alternative difficult to moderate strategy to move from 16th on the grid to P4 at the checkered flag – a place he earned with a sharp overtaking maneuver on the last lap outside of Turn 9 against his teammate George Russell.

After the race, Hamilton announced that engineer Pete “Bono” Bonnington’s fabled instruction that “it’s hammer time” had made it clear that this would be his final appearance for Mercedes – whose engines Hamilton used in all 105 of his Formula 1 races. Race driven have victories.

“When (Bono) said it was ‘Hammer Time,’ I immediately realized I was thinking, ‘This is the last time I’m going to hear that,'” Hamilton said. “At that moment it really clicked for me. But of course a really, really tough race from my position (on the starting grid).