Sunday, December 8th signified an end to many significant events in F1. The 2024 season officially ended,  Lewis Hamilton’s 11-year career with Mercedes and Carlos Sainz’s 4-year career with Ferrari  came to an end. 

Right before the race, there was a close fight between Ferrari and McLaren for the Constructors championship with a 21-point difference; McLaren won 666-652. They were able to push through and win by Lando Norris getting P1 gaining the majority of the points for the championship.  Ferrari put up a good fight, placing 2nd and 3rd, with Charles Leclerc going from 19th place to 3rd.

In 2013 Lewis Hamilton left McLaren and signed with Mercedes, this was a huge leap of faith hoping that this would work out for him. Throughout the 2013-2024 season, he won 7 consecutive world champion titles, creating history for the Mercedes team. In February 2024 he made his shocking announcement of his move to Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz, creating chaos in the 2025 lineup. Everyone questioned who would take his seat and where would Carlos Sainz end up. At the end of the Abu Dhabi race, Lewis Hamilton did one last burnout in a Mercedes and they reserved a spot on the paddock for him after the race.

For the past 4 years, Carlos Sainz has been racing for Ferrari. When Lewis Hamilton announced that he was joining Ferrari immediately the whole F1 fan base was debating. In July he announced that he would be driving for Williams Racing, shocking everyone. At the end of the Abu Dhabi race, where he placed 2nd, Charles Leclerc and Carlos had teary eyes showing that they clearly were upset about the end of their time as teammates.