Hamilton finally bids ‘fond farewell’ to McLaren team

London: Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton has finally had the chance bid his final goodbyes to his McLaren team.

The Brit will end his 14-year stay with the Woking-based outfit at the end of the year after agreeing a 60 million pound switch to rivals Mercedes. “I’m massively proud to have worked for McLaren for so long. I remember the day I first went to the old McLaren factory when I was 13. The team, the cars, the place, the people, they’ll always be special to me,” The Sun quoted Hamilton, as saying, as he addressed the staff, and 600 lucky Vodafone customers, at the team’s MTC factory. The Brit also said that now that challenge lies in front of to work with that team’s engineers and take a car that doesn’t win regularly, and turn into the one that does, just like his McLaren. “The Mercedes building definitely isn’t as spectacular as the MTC. The challenge of moving to Mercedes will be working with that team’s engineers to take a car that doesn’t win regularly, and turn it into a car that does, like my McLaren,” he said. “I hope to bring great success to Mercedes, but McLaren will always have a special place in my heart,” he added. Hamilton is now looking to end the season on a high, despite admitting he was out of the drivers’ championship following his 10th-place finish in Korea. ANI