Toto Wolff has given his opinion on whether Lewis Hamilton will race deep into his forties.
Lewis Hamilton put pen to paper on a new two-year contract with Mercedes in August that will keep him with the Brackley-based team until the end of the 2025 season. By the time his deal is up, he will have been with the Silver Arrows for 13 years while he will also race into his forties.
Yet team principal Toto Wolff believes there is still plenty more gas left in the Brit’s tank. “He is 39 in January, and Fernando (Alonso – 42) is still going strong,” Wolff told the Independent when asked whether he thinks Hamilton will continue racing past the 2025 season.
“As long as you look after yourself, you do the best preparation, physically and mentally, and develop different areas to when you are 25, then yes.
All we have to do is get him a fast enough car. And I have no doubts about him as a driver. His performance, speed, and racecraft have all been evident in the recent races. However, he is unable to win if the car is not underneath him.
At this point, it’s difficult to predict whether that will happen with Mercedes. “I personally feel he can go longer, but we are living from contract to contract, so it is important that we are doing what we think is right and what we feel is right,” Wolff continued.
Since Hamilton initially joined Mercedes in 2012, a significant shift has occurred in the F1 landscape. With eight consecutive constructor championships from 2014 to 2021, the Silver Arrows dominated the 2010s and the first part of the 2020s. However, in the last two years, Red Bull has gained ground.
This year, Red Bull and top driver Max Verstappen have both broken the record for the most points earned in a single season. That hasn’t deterred Wolff, though. The Austrian maintains that his motivation to put Mercedes and Hamilton back on top is “personal anger.”
It’s evident how swiftly the hierarchy shifts. We have won eight consecutive constructors’ championships, and Red Bull hasn’t taken home the trophy for the past two years. However, we must look to the future, take lessons from the past, and now work to ensure that Lewis wins easily once more.
“I’m driven and personally enraged to see him win the eighth title because he deserves it.” It is critical that you treat both drivers fairly and openly in your role as team principal. However, a significant portion of us will always wish to play a role in the story of 2021’s undoing and triumph.
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