“If Lewis stays in Formula 1, we want to do that together”- Toto Wolff on extending his alliance with Lewis Hamilton, amidst 2022 uncertainty.
After a tiring set of negotiations between Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, the two parties agreed on a contract. Still, it only defined a year-long commitment between the two.
With Hamilton’s exit rumours from Mercedes in 2022 are firing up, Toto Wolff has now suggested something opposite, as he claims that if Hamilton wishes to stay in F1, then Mercedes want to continue with him.
“No, there is no doubt about his dedication,” the Mercedes team boss is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “He is absolutely right, and times are changing.
“We all have new priorities when it comes to living a healthy life. He is very passionate about his initiatives against racism and inequality,” he added.
“We agreed that we would start the negotiations very early this year to avoid having too little time, as we did in 2020. If Lewis stays in Formula 1, we want to do that together. We will talk about that soon.”
This comes after Hamilton claimed that the 8th title win would not influence his retirement decision; instead, he will retire when he falls out of love with racing.
What about George Russell?
On the one hand, Mercedes have a reliable veteran performing for them day in and day out, but on the other hand, George Russell, viewed as the heir of Mercedes, is also waiting for his chance.
And in his impressive performance with the Brackley based team at the Sakhir GP validated his future claim to the seat. This means that Valtteri Bottas might be axed from the team, who was selected in 2017 to stabilise the team by being the docile partner amidst this affair.
It would be interesting to see if this arrangement by Mercedes will be maintained between Russell and Hamilton.
