Toto Wolff responds to questions over Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes future: "There is no point talking about the driver situation”
But Hamilton, now 38, is in the fiᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚnal year of his contract with Mercedes and hasn’t yet penned an extension, alt🐎hough he has previously suggested that he will do so.
The seven-time champion insisted that he will race on until winning an all-time record eighth championship but, after the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix, it already seems impossible to imagine that he could𒊎 challenge this season.
Wolff was asked if he was considering back-up options if Hamilton does not sign a new contract, and replied: "I think there is no point talking ab🌜out the driver situation in 2024. That is far too early.
"We need all to all push in the same directions, the drivers, the engine💞ers, all of u♈s management. Rather than throwing in the towel, we're not doing that.
"We never have done𒅌 that and we will not be doing that.
"The Lewis situation, you heard him on the radio. I think he's🍨 an integral part of the team🌳, picking the team up and we're all sticking together and I don't think that's going to change just because we had another start that was really bad.
"We won eight constructors’ championships and we won six drivers’ championships 🌱with him. That relationship holds.
"I think꧅ it would be much too easy to lose a driver and then just throw in the white towel. We're not doing tha൩t.
“On the contrary, we just need to really🎉 dig deep ⛦and deeper than we've ever done, and provide both drivers a car that they're actually able to fight with. You almost feel for them."
Wolff admitted even before Sunday’s season-opening race that the W14 concept would need to change, a major blow to Merceღdes’ h💙opes this year.
Hamilton, 24 hours earlier after the first day of practice in 2023, claimed the concept of his team’s new car was not c☂ompetitive.
Mercedes endured a horrible 2022 that forced Hamilton to go winless for the first time in his career. The team’s only victory was 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell’s in Brazil.
This season started with Hamilton in P5, Russell in P7, while Red Bull’s 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen bega🍬n his title defence by cruising to🌺 victory from pole position.
James was a sports journalist at Sk𝓡y Sports for a decade covering everything fromꦛ American sports, to football, to F1.
