Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says believes Lewis Hamilton will continue with Mercedes is he decides to stay in Formula 1 beyond 2021.
Today’s 2021 Mercedes car launch dispelled many theories about the reason behind Lewis Hamilton signing a one-year contract with the team. Not only did Lewis say it was his choice to sign a one-year deal, team boss Toto Wolff made it clear Hamilton is Mercedes’ first choice going forward.
“The symbiosis that we have in the relationship, it’s always that we have a mutual understanding of what we want to do in the future,” the Austrian explained.
“And that will be also the case in the discussions with Lewis going forward.”
Wolff also shot down any rumours that Mercedes was looking to sign Max Verstappen.
“Max is certainly an outstanding young driver that will be on everybody’s radar in the future, but we are not flirting outside before we have a clear understanding with our two drivers.”
The Mercedes team boss also once again said the team will discuss its 2022 driver line-up much earlier than they did in 2021.
“We have agreed that we want to pick up the discussions much earlier this year, to avoid a situation like we had in 2020 where we ran out of time and were in the uncomfortable position that there is no time left before the beginning of the [next] season.
“That’s also why we only did a one-year contract: in order to allow us to discuss the future in racing and outside of racing longer. And with the right amount of time.
“What we’ve decided is to discuss things much earlier this year, not at the end of the season.”
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Furthermore, Wolff believes Mercedes will be Lewis’ first choice if he decided to remain in the sport beyond 2021.
“I think if Lewis continues to race, we will want to do this together. And we will discuss it shortly. And with Valtteri, we know exactly what we have and we appreciate this.
“At the same time the landscape changes with new cars, new regulations, and we’ve got to take the right decision for the team going forward. But that also means that we will have the discussions with our two drivers first, and then we will see where that goes.”
The Austrian was asked if he has any doubts about Lewis’ commitment to Formula 1.
“No, no doubt about his commitment. First of all, he enjoys racing a lot. We enjoy working with each other. And we discussed that a lot.
“But he’s absolutely right. Times change. New priorities for all of us in terms of the way we live our health. He’s very passionate about his initiatives, against racism and inequality.
“And then we have this massive regulatory change in 2022, that’s going to reshape what Formula 1 will be for the next few years. But I don’t think that this plays a role, to be honest.
“I think it’s fair enough for a driver that has won seven championships, to give himself the flexibility in his mind to decide what he wants to do in the future, whether this is racing or outside of the circus.”