Lewis Hamilton showed his love and loyalty for his Mercedes team by penning a new two-year contract extension a few months ago, but was it the right move for his F1 title ambitions?
Einstein’s definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.
In his illustrious and enduring Formula 1 career, Lewis Hamilton is currently experiencing his longest winless streak at two years. Nevertheless, he has committed to two more seasons with a Mercedes team that appears to be a shadow of the formidable force it was a few years ago.
Just to be clear, I don’t think Hamilton is crazy. Though there isn’t much time left for the seven-time world champion to win an eighth, I do think it’s fascinating that he committed to a longer contract with his current squad.
Mercedes had an incredible eight-year winning streak in the constructors’ championship. It might never happen again, but it’s also possible that Red Bull is already close to surpassing it.
The sport is currently in a tight grasp. They must be the favorites to win every year until at least the next big rule changes in 2026, when new engines and a few other changes come into play, after they won back-to-back in 2023 and did so in such a dominant manner.
Whether Hamilton is still alive by then is an open question. In a few weeks, he will turn 39, and thanks to the two-year contract extension he signed earlier this year, he will race for Mercedes and in Formula One until he is almost 41. Beyond that, Fernando Alonso is demonstrating that it is still feasible to be competitive, but it will depend on how well the British driver’s body and mind hold up.
It underscores the significance of the next two years. It might be his last chance to win that elusive eighth championship, but he has to overcome a Mercedes team that has lost its way if he hopes to even have the opportunity to compete for it. Red Bull has produced machines that are superior to the cars he has driven in the past two years.
At the conclusion of the season, Martin Brundle declared, “Mercedes quite clearly are not the force they were, because they didn’t get the 2022 car right and they didn’t fix it for 2023.” The fan favorite on Sky Sports also mentioned how, after these two disappointing seasons, the dream team of Toto Wolff and his top lieutenants, who led that incredible era, is dissolving.
Wolff and his associates “didn’t suddenly take a stupid pill,” as he stated in 2022. Mercedes logos emblazoned on the breasts of some of the brightest minds in the Formula One paddock. However, they have committed errors. They are also two years behind Red Bull because of Wolff’s admission that the team is essentially starting over for the 2024 W15 car.
With half of the grid out of contract in 2024, the driver market is primed to boom. It made sense for Hamilton to sign a two-year extension with Mercedes, but it’s difficult to understand why he chose to forego his title aspirations in favor of his team’s devotion.
He is not the kind of man to have a lot of regrets in life or in Formula One. Hamilton could consider that choice to be one of them when he looks back on his racing career and is still only a seven-time world champion.
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