Lewis Hamilton has thanked his former colleagues at Mercedes by splashing out on a gift for all 3,000 members of the German manufacturer’s team.

Hamilton spent 12 years with Mercedes and won six Drivers’ Championships while helping transform the team into one of the biggest in the sport. The now 40-year-old departed the team at the end of the 2024 season and signed for Ferrari in a £50million-per-year deal with the Italian constructors.

Hamilton commissioned renowned motorsport artist Paul Oz to create a painting depicting his car from the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. Oz has previously created busts of multiple Formula One legends such as Bruce McLaren, Ayrton Senna, and James Hunt. All of which sit at McLaren’s F1 headquarters in Woking.

Artist Oz posted a since-deleted Instagram post and said: “Now that it’s public knowledge and all 3,000 Mercedes GP employees have received their prints of this, I can talk about it. Commissioned by Lewis himself as a departing present for everybody at Mercedes… class act!

“My only remit was that I should focus on the car rather than Lewis, and so I chose to paint an image from Monaco 2019, just a few days after Niki Lauda passed, and the team ran a red halo to remember Niki. Lewis stuck it on pole and then dominated the race.”

Lewis Hamilton’s F1 stats (as of 30/01/25)

Races
356

Drivers’ Championships
7

Race wins
105

Podiums
202

Career points
4,862.5

Pole positions
104

Fastest laps
67

Lauda served as a non-executive chairman at Mercedes and played a crucial role in convincing Hamilton to join the team back in 2013. He often sported his trademark red baseball cap in the paddock on race weekends, which is why, in tribute to his passing, the team sported a red halo for the race weekend.

The original oil painting hangs proudly at the team’s headquarters in Brackley, with all 3,000 employees receiving their very own print of the work.

Lewis Hamilton Begins Ferrari Chapter

The Brit is currently undergoing testing with his new team ahead of the 2025 season

Hamilton is currently in Barcelona with his new team for pre-season testing ahead of the official testing weekend in Bahrain at the end of February, with the first Grand Prix of the 2025 season taking place in Australia on the 16th of March. Hamilton is looking to land his record eighth Drivers’ Championship with his new team. Ferrari finished second in the Constructors’ Championship last season, just 14 points behind champions McLaren.