Lewis Hamilton is making a big transition, bidding farewell to Mercedes and joining the Scuderia Ferrari from 2025 onwards. Hamilton has achieved his highest of the highs with Mercedes, working alongside Toto Wolff. Thanks to this partnership, the British driver added six driver’s championships to his name and etched his name in the history books.

Hamilton’s switch from the Mercedes camp to Ferrari wasn’t an emotional one, as he wanted to make the most of his prime years. The Mercedes camp did have huge celebrations to send off their star driver at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And it’s fair to say that Hamilton’s send-off in a way overshadowed other celebrations, including McLaren’s constructor’s triumph after a long time.

The donut celebrations by Lewis Hamilton after the race and the post-race rule by the FIA certainly raised some eyebrows. However, it looks like Hamilton’s former teammate Nico Rosberg has found another topic that puts the former Mercedes driver in a bad light.

Did Lewis Hamilton go overboard with his fashion statement in Abu Dhabi?

Now we all know that Hamilton is a fashion icon, and anything and everything he wears has some sort of story behind it. In Abu Dhabi, the British driver opted to showcase his transition from Mercedes to Ferrari with his clothing. On Thursday, he showed up in fully white attire with no hidden messages. But as the days went by, he started to reveal the real meaning behind his clothing choice.

The next day, he went with a combination of white and red, and on the race day, he was fully dressed in a bright red outfit. It was a clear indication of his switch to his new home at Ferrari, but for some, this was a disrespectful gesture. Taking a jab at his former teammate, Nico Rosberg, while speaking to Marca, said, “I see the decision as something very strange and inappropriate. It’s a shame. It’s his day and his choice, so it’s fine.”

Meanwhile, team boss Toto Wolff had a rather carefree attitude towards Hamilton’s attire and laughed at the issue. He even compared Hamilton to a character from Star Wars. It looked like only Rosberg had issues with Hamilton’s outfit in his final race. “They appreciate him, and they still have a good relationship, but it is a small detail that makes me sad,” Rosberg added.

After Hamilton finished P4 at the Yas Marina circuit, the emotions were running high within the Mercedes camp. Race engineer Peter Bonnington and Toto Wolff chimed in with their heartfelt messages to their star driver on the radio. “Nice work, Lewis. That’s P4, mate, and that’s the end of an era. Gotta say, mate, it’s been epic working with you.” Bono said. Joining in, Wolff added, “Thank you, Lewis. Yeah, it’s been an amazing journey into the history books, so – we did everything together, and I’m so grateful to everyone here and the factory from the bottom of my heart. ALL THE BEST.”

It’s fair to say that the fashion statement by Lewis Hamilton certainly didn’t come in the way that Mercedes celebrated their champ’s final race. It just seems like some F1 personalities cannot digest the fact that Hamilton’s been so successful in the history of the sport. And it looks like his move to Ferrari has also added another critic to that list.

Ralf Schumacher weighs in on the GOAT debate

In the history of Formula 1 racing, only two drivers have managed to clinch seven championship trophies. Michael Schumacher was the first driver to do it, and back then it looked like no one could ever come close to his achievement. And this is where Hamilton proved us all wrong and etched his name in history books with seven titles to his name.

Now Schumacher’s five of the seven titles came with Ferrari, which is why Hamilton’s first season with Ferrari is going to be critical. But Schumacher’s brother Ralf isn’t convinced that the 7-time champ has special abilities like his brother to make a positive impact within the team. “The biggest difference is that Michael, among many other qualities, was able to develop a car perfectly for his driving style together with the engineers. Lewis can’t do that. He’s never been able to do that.”

Not only that, he even claimed that Hamilton won’t get the first preference like he’s had for most of his career at Ferrari. “That makes things even more difficult for Lewis: because Charles Leclerc is the top dog. Everyone in the team knows him. For Lewis, everything is new at Ferrari.” Well, this isn’t the first time that British driver has had to deal with critics and naysayers, and the best way to respond to them will be to deliver the goods on the racetrack next year.