General
Debate | 'It is better for Hamilton and Mercedes to part ways'
Over and over again, Lewis Hamilton came over the team radio during the Austrian Grand Prix asking how others were exceeding the track limits. Along with this, the former world champion spoke about how much difficulty he had staying within the lines with the hard-to-drive Mercedes itself. Team boss Toto Wolff came on the radio twice to retort to Hamilton. The Briton complaining about his car is nothing new, he has been doing so for a year and a half. And with still no new contract and the constant wailing, the claim is justified: Isn't it better for Hamilton and Mercedes to part ways?
It sounded like a father righting his unruly son: "Lewis, the car is bad. We know that. Please, drive it," said Wolff, who has had to go through the dust publicly so many times after Hamilton's complaining. It now resembles Fernando Alonso's time at McLaren, which had a not-so-fast Honda engine at the time. The Spaniard called the engine a 'GP2 engine' (GP2 is the current Formula 2, ed.), a statement that was the prelude to a split with the English team.
Contract not yet renewed
Lewis Hamilton has indicated several times that he wants to stay with Mercedes, but he has not yet renewed his contract. It is easy to imagine that Wolff is tired of the whining of the most successful driver ever at some point. After all, constantly saying how bad the Mercedes is not pleasant from a marketing point of view for the German brand. And then this particular driver - if the rumours were true - also wants to earn €50 million a year. On the other hand, Wolff also knows how good Hamilton is. Should the Briton leave, there is no one available who even comes close to his qualities as a replacement.
GPblog is curious about what our readers think about this: Is it better for Hamilton and Mercedes to part ways? Or not? Let us know via our poll or in the comments.