The Mercedes F1 camp is left with a chaotic environment following the poor start of the 2023 season. Combined with the dismal performance of W14, team boss Toto Wolff also has to deal with Lewis Hamilton’s current contract extension.
But no progress has been made over the negotiations even though the deal is set to expire at the end of 2023. This has raised doubts over the 7-time world champion’s future with the Brackley-based team.
Multiple speculations have taken over the paddock about the 38-year-old’s dream team that could help him clinch his much revered 8th title. As much as Hamilton insists that he wants to stay with the Silver Arrows and help them reach back to the top, the current state of Mercedes’ 2023 challenger does not seem to help the Briton achieve his dream anytime soon.
F1 experts believe that this combined with multiple other factors could lead Hamilton away from Mercedes. One of these factors is the value of his current contract.
Reasons why Toto Wolff might end the relationship with Lewis Hamilton
Ever since Mercedes’ downfall, Hamilton has failed to win even a single race. Meanwhile, his teammate George Russell brought in the team’s one and only race win at the 2022 Brazil GP.
In the first two races of the 2023 season, the Briton failed to finish above P5. The poor-performing Mercedes has even led him into labeling the 2022 season as the worst of his career.
In a column for the Times Newspaper, leading F1 commentator, Matthew Syed said that soon the 38-year-old will face the question of whether he should remain loyal to the team or look for more success with other teams. Syed explained that this situation has made the question of Hamilton’s future tantalizing.
Amidst numerous rumors and guesses about Hamilton’s move to other teams, Syed said that it is unlikely that the Briton would find a seat in Red Bull. Team boss Christian Horner too rejected the idea of signing Hamilton.
While Syed finds it amusing to have both Max Verstappen and Hamilton on the same team, he is also of the opinion that perhaps Mercedes will hit the correct note on the W14 and bring it back to life.
Furthermore, the British journalist also suggested that Mercedes might end the relationship with Hamilton at the end of the season because of the expenses. Syed said, “It is also possible – and many Hamilton detractors have raised this prospect – that Mercedes may end the relationship at the end of this season, given the expense of his reported $74 million contract.”
Mercedes is not dogmatic about copying Red Bull
The first two races of the 2023 season have brought nothing but disappointment for the Silver Arrows. Continuing on the same, or even worse, course of the 2022 season, Mercedes is still far from any optimistic performance.
The frustration inside the Brackley-based camp became visible when in the immediate aftermath of the Bahrain GP, Hamilton complained about his technical team to the media. The Briton said that he had suggested some improvements but the team ignored his guidance on the W14.
Lewis Hamilton has explained his criticism of the Mercedes team for not listening to him:
“I’m one of those people that always likes to be right, but I’m not always right, but in this scenario I was right,” he said.
“They do listen to me, I mean look at the success we’ve had… pic.twitter.com/ukhWKjiuSf
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) March 24, 2023
On the other hand, Wolff gave a brutal assessment of the W14 as well. The team brought back its star designer James Allison. Moreover, reports suggested that Wolff even fired an ultimatum to the team’s current technical director Mike Elliot after the race in Sakhir.
After the second race in Saudi, however, Wolff thinks that there is some progress that the team has made and it would lead them to positive results at the upcoming Australian GP. Although, in the meantime, he has also admitted that a drastic change in the car concept is needed to return to winning ways.
These drastic changes could also be inspired by rival Red Bull. When asked about copying his rivals, Wolff clearly stated that “at this point, Mercedes has no dogmatism of how the car should look like.”
