It's that time of the year again, when engines are no longer ringing in everyone's ears and the teams' machines are stored away in their resting places.
After an eight-year period of unwavering success, Mercedes' on-track achievements were few and far between this year due to the teams' massive misstep in the design of its 2022 contender.
But while there was no gleaming trophy for the crews back home to admire, team boss Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell made it a point of celebrating something perhaps more precious and valuable than a piece of bright silverware: a family's unshakable sense of commitment.
This Lewis speech to our Team. 💜 pic.twitter.com/hbB14vr8kV
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 10, 2022
In the face of adversity, the Brackley squad – including the troops at Brixworth – never gave up this season and pushed unrelentlessly to improve, develop, advance and set right whatever was wrong with its troublesome silver arrow.
Even if a single win – courtesy of Russell in Brazil – was but a small reward for its crews' tireless efforts, the hard work wasn't done in vain. And it never is.
