Hamilton honors Mercedes staff with special 3,000-piece gift
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Lewis Hamilton's 12-year reign with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, a partnership that yielded six world championships and cemented their place in motorsport history, came to a close at the end of last year.
But before he zoomed off to Ferrari, Hamilton left a truly special parting gift for his 3,000 colleagues at Brackley and Brixworth.
Instead of the usual farewell trinkets, Hamilton commissioned a unique piece of art for each and every member of the Mercedes team.
For this, he enlisted the talents of renowned motorsport artist Paul Oz to create something truly memorable. And Oz, never one to shy away from a challenge, delivered in spectacular style.
An Iconic Moment Captured on Canvas
The British artist, famed for his evocative sculpture piece devoted to Ayrton Senna, created a striking oil painting of Hamilton's car from the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix.
The significance of that race was profound – it was just days after the passing of Mercedes legend Niki Lauda, and the team honored him with a red halo on their car. Hamilton, sporting a Lauda-themed red helmet on the day, delivered a dominant win, a tribute befitting the Austrian icon.
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"Now that it's public knowledge and all 3,000 Mercedes GP employees have received their prints of this, I can talk about it," Oz shared on Instagram.
"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 then dominated the race."
The original masterpiece now proudly hangs at Mercedes' Brackley headquarters, a permanent reminder of Hamilton's legacy.
But for those hoping to grab a copy of their own, Oz was quick to clarify: "No prints are commercially available sorry."
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