With the chequered flag at the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP, Lewis Hamilton bowed out of Mercedes, marking the end of an era. And as a beautiful ode to arguably the best driver the Silver Arrows have had, team boss Toto Wolff sent a message to the #44 driver: “If we can’t win, we want you to win.”
Former Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner, however, has relegated Wolff‘s words to mere media talk. On the Red Flags Podcast, the American-Italian called the Austrian’s tribute out as “bullis**t”.
“He doesn’t wish him that,” said Steiner. “That was bullis**t for the cameras. This was for the camera. If he [Wolff] doesn’t win it he really doesn’t care who wins it,” added the 59-year-old.
Steiner remained pretty adamant that in F1, it only matters if your team and driver win. While Wolff might share a pretty special bond with Hamilton, the last thing he would really want is for Ferrari to win and deliver the eighth championship to the 39-year-old, per the former Haas boss.
Do Wolff and Mercedes really wish Hamilton the best?
In the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi GP weekend, the Silver Arrows did commemorate the Briton’s career with the team with many special events. There was one event with their title sponsor, Petronas in Malaysia and another in Stuttgart within the Mercedes AMG premises.
It is safe to say that for Wolff and the team, the contributions that the #44 driver made were invaluable. After all, he leaves the team with 84 wins, six titles, and helping them to eight consecutive Constructors’ titles.
Naturally, the Brackley team will want to respect his legacy and celebrate their world champion as he moves on to his next chapter with Ferrari. But as far as wishing him the best goes, only time will tell if Wolff’s words hold any water.
Going into 2025, the W16 could be the car that brings the Silver Arrows back to the front of the field. But Ferrari are already in the driver’s seat in terms of the start of the next season with arguably the strongest package under their belts in the latter half of the 2024 season.
