Battling a major dip in performances since 2022, Mercedes now faces the prospect of one of their biggest assets leaving the team. Per Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle, Lewis Hamilton might be looking for the exit door at the Brackley camp should the team not improve quickly.
Quoted by F1 Maximaal, the British Journalist believes Hamilton will explore other options if there is an opportunity for him to win an eighth world championship.
“I think that if Lewis feels that an eighth title is unattainable within a reasonable period of time, he will think of plan B”, stated Brundle.
After a difficult couple of seasons, Mercedes and Hamilton agreed to sign a two-year extension deal starting from next year. The same year will also mark the introduction of an entirely new concept for the Mercedes car, fueling the title aspirations of Hamilton.
However, should the new concept fail to deliver, a close-to-retirement Hamilton will have to look at his backup plans for his dream of picking up another championship trophy.
Adding a base to the potential loss of Hamilton, Brundle cited the example of several high-ranking employees parting ways with the team, which perhaps only added to the Silver Arrows’ downfall. Thus, the 64-year-old claimed it will still take time for the team to rebuild and go back to its glory days.
A terrible downfall for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes
Between 2014 and 2021, Mercedes won a staggering eight constructors’ championships while Hamilton secured six titles, taking his tally of drivers’ championships to a record-equaling seven.
However, since the start of the 2022 season, the team looked nothing like it was until 2021, failing to keep up with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. The defending constructors’ champions won only one race that season, with Red Bull dethroning them with ease.
In the following season, things went from bad to worse for Mercedes, as they failed to win even a single race. Given the same, the team decided to bin their current concept and introduce an entirely new car for the 2024 season. However, introducing a new concept will be no easy feat, and the team’s engineers will have to burn the midnight oil to come up with a car worthy of challenging the mighty Red Bull.
Amidst Mercedes wanting to do everything they can to help Hamilton pick up a record-breaking eighth world championship, Brundle believes the youth of George Russell will pose another threat to the 38-year-old’s hopes and dreams.
