KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — Petronas bid a fond farewell to Lewis Hamilton as he made his final visit to the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur recently as a driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
The seven-time Formula One World Champion bid an emotional goodbye to the Petronas employees and Malaysian public who have supported him during his 12-season career with the team.
Some 1,000 Petronas staff congregated to bid farewell to Hamilton who took the time to share words of thanks.
The day then culminated with a 3,000-person capacity event for Malaysian fans as Petronas led the Malaysian public in celebrating Hamilton’s career and thanking him for the years of success and excitement.
Hamilton said: “It's obviously a very emotional time as I start my farewells here in Kuala Lumpur. Petronas has been my family for the past 12 years; I always love coming to the Twin Towers and get such a great welcome from everyone here in Malaysia so I hope it's not the last time I get to come back.”
Petronas joined Mercedes-AMG F1 as Title and Technical Sponsor in 2011 and has fueled each of Hamilton’s 12 seasons with the team, driving success on and off the track with its innovative fluids and lubricants.
Petronas has supplied three generations of its Primax Fuel to power Hamilton’s career. Throughout this process, Hamilton has worked closely with Petronas as a collaborator to consult on the performance of Petronas products in the car.
Hamilton completed his final race in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team colours last weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, bringing to a close a relationship which has become one of the most successful in Formula One history.
Petronas senior general manager of strategic communications, group strategic relations and communications, Siti Azlina Abd Latif said: “I would like to thank Lewis for his efforts in achieving the incredible success we have seen together over the years.
“We recognise that wherever the future takes him, he will always be a part of the Petronas family and will be welcomed with open arms whenever he returns to Malaysia.”
“The partnership between PETRONAS and Mercedes has driven both to historic levels of innovation, success and growth and we are excited with what the future holds.”
— Bernama
