Portugal Colonial - Hamilton to race final three grands prix of Mercedes career

The British driver, who is moving to Ferrari next season, is understood to have been in Mercedes' factory preparing on the simulator as usual ahead of Saturday's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The team confirmed the 39-year-old will also address the media, in line with his regular pre-race commitments, on Wednesday.

Hamilton endured one of the worst performances of his glittering career at the Brazilian Grand Prix, crossing the line in 10th.

"That was a disaster of a weekend, guys," he said on the radio. "The worst the car has ever been. Thank you for contributing to try and great job to all the guys at the pit-stop.

"If this is the last time I get to perform it was a shame it wasn't great but (I am) grateful for you."

The cryptic message led some to believe that Hamilton was ready to call a premature end to his Mercedes career with three rounds to come.

But in a Mercedes press release ahead of this weekend's race in the United States, team principal Toto Wolff said: "We head to Las Vegas ready to tackle the final three races of the season.

"We are focused on ending this year as strongly as possible and providing some more highlights as we close out 2024.

"We are looking forward to the races ahead, to ending our incredible journey with Lewis on a high and to building momentum for 2025."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen is on the brink of a fourth successive world championship title ahead of the race on Saturday night.

Hamilton, who has won two races this season to take his career tally to 105, is down in seventh in the drivers' standings, two points behind team-mate George Russell.

V.Dantas--PC