Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton is still fully focused at the Brackley team, despite his future team Ferrari making positive progress this season.
The seven-time world champion shocked the Formula 1 world before the 2024 season had even started. The 39-year-old announced his move to Ferrari for the 2025 season before he had even begun his last season with Mercedes in 2024.
Since the start of the new ground effect regulations in 2022, Mercedes has struggled significantly. From winning eight constructors’ titles in a row, the Silver Arrows are now nowhere near competing for race wins.
Hamilton was visibly losing patience with the team – not being able to win a single race throughout 2022 or 2023. The Mercedes driver admitted that the Silver Arrows had no excuses to produce a race-winning car in 2024.
Despite a big change in concept, the Brackley-based team are still nowhere near the front of the grid, currently sitting fourth in the constructors’ championship.
The team’s morale will be low after the last race at the Australian Grand Prix. They suffered a double retirement – with Hamilton’s engine failure and George Russell’s last lap crash.
Hamilton still focused on Mercedes
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s future team Ferrari seems to have ironed out issues from last season. The Scuderia appear to have eliminated the poor strategy calls and slow pitstops. The Maranello team has also improved its race pace for 2024, being Red Bull’s closest challenger and securing a 1-2 finish in the Australian Grand Prix.
Despite Mercedes entering its third season in the ground effect era and still struggling, Wolff believes that Hamilton is “not looking over the fence” at his future Ferrari team.
The Mercedes boss was asked how himself and Hamilton were coping with the non-stop struggles. He responded that Hamilton was “as good as you can be”, despite the current circumstances:
“I think the drivers are super in this whole setup because Lewis is as good as you can be.”
“He’s in a situation obviously where, on one side, it’s super frustrating to see that we are not getting it. On the other side, look over the fence. It’s pretty good what’s happening there. But that is not his main priority today.
“George is just a fighter and he’s sticking in, and he knows that’s his place. So, we’ve got to sort this out.”
Wolff has also admitted that he has questioned himself multiple times on why his team has struggled to reach the top and fight for races victories.
“You always need to look at us like I need to look at myself. What is it? Why is it that we can’t get there?
“We’re humans. The data doesn’t take decisions. Humans do. So, we’re not stopping. I’m not sitting here and dwelling. But on the contrary, I’m thinking of what else is it that we need to do and how can we push.”
Feature Image Credit: James Gasperotti/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images