Toto Wolff hints Lewis Hamilton could remain beyond next season
Toto Wolff hints Lewis Hamilton could remain behind the wheel in Formula One BEYOND next season, as he reveals conversation in which they joked about the driver sticking around for another ‘five to 10 years’
- Lewis Hamilton enjoyed his highest finish to date this season at the French GP
- The British driver hinted he could remain beyond his current deal in 2023
- Toto Wolff jokes about their partnership stretching beyond the end of next year
Toto Wolff has hinted that Lewis Hamilton could remain in Formula One after he revealed that a conversation had been had in which the two joked about their partnership stretching into the next ‘five to 10 years’.
Hamilton enjoyed his best Grand Prix of the season so far over the weekend when he finished second behind world champion Max Verstappen at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Speaking in the aftermath of a good Sunday for Mercedes in which they secured P2 and P3, Wolff was in good spirits and joked that Hamilton could remain beyond the end of his current deal which expires at the end of 2023.
Toto Wolff joked Lewis Hamilton, who finished second on Sunday, could pass 400 races
He said: ‘We talked a few weeks ago about how long our partnership can go and the number that was discussed was five to 10 years, so we can get to 400.
‘Someone once said you have not just got to win the eighth – why not ten? Says he who is a second of the pace,’ Wolff went on to joke.
Hamilton, who was clearly much happier with the car’s performance in France, also spoke about his future in the aftermath of Sunday’s GP, which was incidentally his 300th start in F1.
Hamilton himself cut a much happier figure on Sunday and said he’s got plenty of fuel left in the tank
He said: ‘I still feel fresh and as though I have got plenty of fuel left in the tank.
‘I want to get back to winning ways and that is going to take time, but I am sure we will sit down at some stage to talk about the future.
‘I want to keep building. One thing is racing but another is to continue to do more outside the sport (on social matters), which I think Mercedes and us can, and will do.’
The seven-time world champion is previously on record as saying that he hoped he was not still racing at the age of 40, but that now seems a much more distinct possibility with the murmurings beginning to emerge that he could remain.
Mercedes enjoyed their best weekend of the season yet with a second and third placed finishes
Having endured a difficult start to the season with the Mercedes car facing all sorts of issues including the porpoising that was described as ‘dangerous’, Hamilton has seen something of a revival in his fortunes. Clearly, the driver is in a much happier space.
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s former teammate Nico Rosberg said that he can see the Brit continuing beyond next season, citing his recent upturn in fortune as motivation for remaining in the drivers’ seat.
‘It looks like he’s in a good place still, and relishing this new challenge of having George next to him because it’s still as important as ever for Lewis to beat his team-mate,’ Rosberg told Sky Sports News.
‘Lewis did an awesome job [in qualifying], really outperformed George over one lap by three or four tenths – that’s a lot, so really phenomenal driving from Lewis.
‘I think he’s still motivated and in a good place with the team, so I do see him continuing, why not, for a couple more years.’
‘In terms of performance, look at Fernando Alonso – he’s 40 years old and still driving at his very best. The way he’s beating [Esteban] Ocon at the moment is really impressive,’ he added.
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