After Failing to Compete With Red Bull, Mercedes Boss Admits Not Working With the ‘Old’ Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has been a skeleton of his old self ever since the 2022 F1 season kicked off with new regulations. After dominating the grid for more than five years, the Briton found himself fighting in the midfield, being no match for Max Verstappen. Now, ahead of the Dutch GP, Toto Wolff has revealed in an interview with Boardroom, that working with Hamilton now is quite different than working with the old version of him.

Mercedes completely lost their footing at the start of the 2022 season. Plagued with issues of porpoising, the Silver Arrows were overtaken by teams like Red Bull and Ferrari. However, both Hamilton and the team have been extremely supportive of each other and tried to make the best out of the situation.

Tommy down to the socks 🇳🇱 @TommyHilfiger pic.twitter.com/buHahQRUkO

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) August 24, 2023

Hamilton had won four consecutive World Championships from 2017 to 2020, before finally losing out to Verstappen. The driver who has won 103 Grands Prix was having to fight against midfield sides. This brought out a very different side of the seven-time world champion, something that even Wolff has attested to.

Lewis Hamilton has been a huge support for Mercedes

Toto Wolff recently spoke to Boardroom about Hamilton’s ability to adapt according to adverse situations. Wolff explained that working with Hamilton currently has been much different from working with him during his period of domination.

Wolff said, “He’s been super supportive when the team needed it, and that dynamic goes in both directions.” He explained further, “When the engineers didn’t know what to do next on the track on race weekend, it’s he who cheered everybody up and brought the right attitude as a driver.”

Lewis Hamilton’s goals:
– maximise points every weekend
– hold on to second in the constructors championship
– chase down Perez. 😏pic.twitter.com/rVZc3ZSQBV

— deni (@fiagirly) August 24, 2023

However, not everything has been as smooth as Wolff is claiming them to be. Despite having such a strong understanding, Hamilton is yet to pen down a renewal with the team, with only half a season left before his contract expires. Therefore, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the situation within the team.

The Hamilton contract situation

Hamilton’s current contract expires at the end of the 2022 season and as of now, his future is still uncertain. As per original reports, Hamilton has reportedly asked for a five-year deal worth $50,000,000 per season. Even though Mercedes has apparently agreed to the monetary claims, the team is not ready to take Hamilton on board for five more years.

However, Hamilton recently spoke on the topic and revealed that all negotiations have been completed and there are only a few minor details to confirm. He has also confirmed that he will be revealing the details of the contract by the end of the year.