Lewis Hamilton News: Former Ferrari Manager Bevieves Toto Wolff Would Let Driver Leave For Ferrari
There have been countless rumours of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for one reason or another - none of which are true. But let's say in a couple of years Mercedes still haven't managed to gear up the 7-time champion with a winning car, what then? A former Ferrari manager believes that Toto Wolff would let him leave for the likes of Ferrari if they could offer him something more.
Since the change in regulations in 2022, Lewis has been struggling with a car that Mercedes simply cannot refine, and it's fair to say that his confidence behind the wheel of the 2023 contender isn't where it needs to be.
With James Allison returning to a more prominent part of the design process, there is a spark of optimism within the drivers now, but with the cost cap looming, how fast they are able to release upgrades to battle the likes of Red Bull remains to be seen.
Talking on his YouTube channel, Peter Windsor has given his view on the subject:
“My view is that if the Mercedes is not a great car and, say, Lewis doesn’t win a race [and] maybe George [Russell] doesn’t win a race and if he’s got another year on his contract, if he said to Toto Wolff:
"‘Toto, I’ve given you everything. I’ve now had two years of a bad car. I’ve got a mega offer from Ferrari and I want to take it. Will you look into my eye and shake my hand and we’ll call it quits?’
“I think Toto would do that."
Commenting on the strong relationship between the Mercedes chief and his star driver, Windsor continued to add that it's highly unlike that LEwis would be forced to say:
“I don’t think he would say, ‘No, you’ve got a contract. You must drive for us’.
“I think Lewis would just say: ‘OK, well, I’m stopping in that case. Ciao’.
“He’d do a [Nigel] Mansell – if it ever came down to that.
“The odds are that it won’t because I think he will win a grand prix or two this year – if not more – by the law of averages.
“And I think Mercedes will get better and they’ll have a better car."
He continued, comparing the driver to his British teammate George Russell:
“And if nothing else, Toto will be very good at painting a picture in Lewis’ mind of what it might be like in 2024, the race-winning car they’re going to have in 2024
“So it won’t come to that
“But if it did, I don’t think contracts would be that important actually
“I think the contracts in place at the moment basically are to govern the amount of money that he’s earning.
“I can’t imagine Toto really thinks: ‘I can tie this guy down’.
“He can tie George down or he can tie [reserve driver] Mick Schumacher down, but he can’t tie Lewis down to that extent in my view.”