After a well-under-par Formula 1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told reporters that Lewis Hamilton’s contract extension is not a priority as the team goes all out to find a solution to their lacking performance.
Sixth and seventh on the grid to fifth and seventh at the end of the race would satisfy most teams, but not Mercedes who once ruled the roost as a winning machine that gobbled up 16 F1 World titles in the past decade alone.
Pre-season much was made about Hamilton’s new deal, some suggesting the seven-time F1 World Champion was playing the waiting game as he contemplates what kind of car Mercedes have in store; right now the current W14 is much like last year’s car, which is awkward, slow mostly and enigmatic, to cut it short and keep it polite.
Thus, by all accounts, it will be scrapped for another concept that supposedly has taken shape at Brackley, which would mean all hands on deck and no time for contract talks with Hamilton.
Wolff said as much when he told reporters after the race in Bahrain: “There is no point talking about the driver situation for 2024. That is far too early.
“We have to all push in the same direction, the drivers, engineers and management, rather the throwing in the towel. We have never done that and we will not do that now,” insisted Wolff.
Wolff: We need to dig deeper than ever to provide both drivers with a car they fight with
As for Hamilton’s motivation, the Austrian said: “You heard Lewis on the radio. He is an integral part of the team, picking the team up, and we’re all sticking together. I don’t think that’s going to change just because we had another start that was really bad.
“We won eight constructor championships, and we won six driver championships with him, and that relationship holds. It would be much too easy to lose a driver, and then just throw in the white towel. We’re not doing that.
“On the contrary, we just need to really dig deeper than we’ve ever done before, and provide both drivers with a car that they’re actually able to fight with,” added the Mercedes boss.
Hamilton has always insisted his future lies with Mercedes no matter what, with Wolff often echoing those sentiments, thus for Hamilton the main concern right now is to get the 2023 package sorted out, be it this one or the new one apparently earmarked to break cover at the next race in Saudi Arabia.
Credit to Hamilton who took the disappointing performance on the chin, as Red Bull’s race winner Max Verstappen, who went into cruise mode after the final stops, crossed the line 50-seconds ahead of the #44 Mercedes.
Aday earlier the pace-setting Red Bull was six-tenths better than the Black Arrows in Qualifying Q3 at Sakhir, by all accounts the RB19s running more downforce than was needed on the night, so confident were they in their race pace.
Hamilton: Big congratulations to Fernando and the whole Aston Martin team
“I know we are not where we want to be, but let’s keep pushing,” Hamilton rallied at the team in the immediate wake of the disappointment. “We have got some serious work to do to close the gap but I believe in you all so let’s keep going.”
With Aston Martin embarrassing them to boot, a Mercedes customer team finding the sweetspot with their AMR23 this season, good enough for Fernando Alonso to bounce off cars and still claim a podium spot, while in the sister car, a half-fit Lance Stroll scored points, thrusting Team Green into the thick of the sharp-end and Best of Rest behind Red Bull.
After the race, Hamilton said of the pecking order ambush by Aston: “We are the fourth fastest team right now, and the Ferrari and Aston that we were battling were just quicker than us.
“Big congratulations to Fernando and the whole Aston Martin team too. They did a great job today. It was a fun tussle we had for a moment, but he was too quick. We are lacking a lot of downforces, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to add more to the car.
“As soon as we put more load on the front and rear, we will be able to pick up our pace. We’ve just got to keep working; we know we are not where we need to be. I’ve got to stay positive, keep my head up and keep pushing the Team. I will be a positive light for them and get the best points I can,” concluded Hamilton.