F1 News: Toto Wolff On Lewis Hamilton’s Future – “He Knows That One Day He Will Not Be The Best”
In a podcast called ‘Performance People’, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has commented on the “shelf life” Lewis Hamilton has as a racing driver, revealing that he believes the 7-time world champion hasn’t reached his cut-off point yet thanks to his disciplined lifestyle.
Lewis Hamilton’s retirement from F1 has been a talking point of the sport for months now as the performance of the Mercedes W13 hasn’t proven to be good enough to retain his winning streak. Losing to Red Bull and Ferrari, the team has struggled to gain momentum this year thanks to multiple issues, and only as the 2022 season begins to come to and end has Mercedes struck a chord and found some performance.
Fortunately for fans of the British driver, Hamilton was able to wash the slate clean as he talked about his future with the press:
“I want to keep racing. I love what I do. I’ve been doing it for 30 years, and I don’t feel that I should have to stop. I think I am currently still earning my keep. I still want to do better,” he said.
“I could stop now and I have lots of other things in the pipeline that I will be super-focused and super-busy with. I’m here for the sheer love of working in the organisation that I’m in. So you are stuck with me for quite a bit longer.
“My goal is to continue to be with Mercedes. I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13. It really is my family.
“Mercedes-Benz have stuck with me through thick and thin. They stuck with me through being expelled at school. They stuck with me through everything that was going on through 2020. They’ve stuck with me through my mistakes and through the ups and downs.”
Building on this, Wolff has outlined why he believes Hamilton is still a driver to invest in, despite him being one of the oldest on the grid.
“Lewis is totally mature and conscious about where he stands in his career. He’s not being led by his emotions like I’ve seen with sportspeople that think they can go on forever and try to hang on to it.”
“Lewis is rational and intelligent about it, he says ‘I know I have a shelf life as a racing driver. It’s clear.’ You can push that shelf life further away by certain lifestyles, by being very disciplined.”
“I think as a racing driver cognitive reception is crucial. Lewis knows that, he knows that one day he will not be the best himself anymore [but] that hasn’t happened yet, and he’s doing everything in terms of how he’s performing and living to continue.”
It’s expected that after next year, Lewis Hamilton will confirm another multi-year contract with Mercedes. And now the team is getting to grips with the W13, fans of Hamilton will be excited to see what performance Mercedes could bring to the table.
