Ever since the 2021 season, Toto Wolff has had one goal in mind – to hand Lewis Hamilton his eighth drivers’ championship. With 2024 being Hamilton’s last season with Mercedes, the Austrian has one last chance to fulfill the same. X user ‘Sir Lewis Updates‘ recently posted a video clip of Wolff, where he talked about aiding Hamilton in winning his eighth drivers championship. Wolff also joked about Hamilton regretting leaving Mercedes, should they be able to provide him with the fastest car on the grid.
“It would be great! Because first of all, he deserves to win an 8th title. If that would have been in a Mercedes, we could close the painful chapter from the past, and I think he would regret that he’s leaving the team because the Mercedes was the fastest car.”
If Hamilton wins the title with Mercedes and moves to Ferrari, who then fall off in 2025, he could regret his move. Wolff made the joke keeping that in mind, but internally, would want that to be the case.
The chances of Mercedes winning the title are slim, but early signs show progress. Results from the first two practice sessions of 2024 have been promising for Hamilton. Having led the timings at one stage in FP1, Hamilton retired to the pit, falling to P9 with a margin of +0.433 seconds. He drastically improved on his time in FP2 and ended the session in the P1 with a lead of 0.206 seconds. Meanwhile, George Russell ended FP2 in P2.
The early days of February were an emotional rollercoaster for Hamilton and Mercedes. After months of discussions, the two parties decided to extend their contract for one year, with an optional extra. However, Hamilton then decided to let go of the option and sign for Ferrari starting from 2025.
Lewis Hamilton’s win is a personal agenda for Toto Wolff
Controversy erupted when Hamilton lost the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix under questionable circumstances. Ever since, Hamilton has failed to win a race in F1, while Max Verstappen has racked up two more world championships. Given the same, Wolff claims there is “personal anger” within him to aid Hamilton in winning another championship. He feels Hamilton should already have the championship, but he doesn’t.
Reflecting on the changing times in the F1 paddock, Wolff reminisced upon how Mercedes won the constructors’ title eight years in a row. However, Since 2022, they have won just one race, while Red Bull has won back-to-back constructors’ championships. Now, Wolff wants to rectify the mistakes made by his team in the last two years. Despite Hamilton being 39, the Austrian doesn’t doubt his capabilities as a driver. Hence, his entire focus remains on providing Hamilton with a fast and dependable car worthy of winning the championship.
