Lewis Hamilton to fulfil final three races of his Mercedes career

By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent

Lewis Hamilton will fulfil the final three races of his Mercedes career as planned – starting at this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion raised doubt over his immediate future following a post-race radio message at the previous round in Brazil.

But it is understood Hamilton – who is moving to Ferrari next season – has been in Mercedes’ factory preparing on the simulator as usual ahead of Saturday’s night race on the Strip.

The team confirmed the 39-year-old will also address the media – as per his regular pre-race commitments – on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

Hamilton endured one of the worst performances of his glittering career in Interlagos – crossing the line in 10th.

“That was a disaster of a weekend, guys,” he said on the radio. “The worst the car has ever been. Thank you for contributing to try and great job to all the guys at the pit-stop.

“If this is the last time I get to perform it was a shame it wasn’t great but (I am) grateful for you.”

The cryptic message led some to believe that the Hamilton was ready to call a premature end to his Mercedes career with three rounds in Las Vegas, Qatar (Dec 1) and Abu Dhabi (Dec 8) still to come.

In a Mercedes press release ahead of this weekend’s event in the United States, team principal Toto Wolff said: “We head to Las Vegas ready to tackle the final three races of the season.

“We are focused on ending this year as strongly as possible and providing some more highlights as we close out 2024.

“We are looking forward to the races ahead, to ending our incredible journey with Lewis on a high and to building momentum for 2025.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will claim his fourth successive world championship if he outscores British driver Lando Norris on Saturday.