Wolff saw statement on Hamilton leaving 'taken out of context'
F1 News
Toto Wolff argues his comments on Lewis Hamilton in the recently released boook called Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane were taken out of context. According the to the Austrian team principal, the British driver is still "very sharp".
"We’re in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has a shelf life. So I need to look at the next generation." That is what Wolff said, among other things, in the book published this month.
The Austrian also explained why they have given the seven-time world champion a shorter extension. While Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have secured longer deals, that is not at all strange by Mercedes. George Russell for example also signed a deal that ends after the 2025 season two years ago. However, some media outlets started combining individual quotes, creating a different story from the one recorded in the book.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, however, the Austrian team principal says that his words were "taken a little bit out of context". " What I was referring to was that all of us age, whether it is in a car, on a pitch, or as a manager or entrepreneur. And that is what I am trying to do with myself, understand, ‘Am I going from great to good?’ Because good is not in Formula 1 anymore," he explained.
'Hamilton is still very sharp'
Hamilton will turn 40 next January. According to Wolff, his comment does not mean that the seven-time world champion is not sharp anymore.
Hamilton not being sharp anymore because he has now reached the age of 39? Wolff wants to stay away from that. "Now contrary to my own self-assessment, I think we see with Lewis that he’s very much there when the car is right. And we haven’t been able to give him that car to perform his best, and that is a frustration that we share equally in the team, and for himself."
"He’s very sharp. He’s different to when he was a 20-year-old, that’s certainly clear. But his experience and his race craft is tremendous."
On 1 February 2024, it was officially announced that Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of the current season to join Ferrari. In the book, due to by when that was announced, Wolff explained that he missed out on negotiating with drivers such as Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, who signed contracts during that period.
This article was written in collaboration with Corwin Kunst
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