Toto Wolff ‘won’t have say’ in Lewis Hamilton Mercedes negotiations

Horner opens up on Red Bull's 'barren spell' amid Mercedes dominance

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Toto Wolff won’t have any say in when Lewis Hamilton leaves Mercedes, according to former F1 star Ralf Schumacher. The German believes that Hamilton, who has one year remaining on his current contract, will be the one to call the shots due to the credit he has built up with the Silver Arrows during his illustrious career.

“Lewis has so much credit with Mercedes that he decides it himself,” Schumacher said. “In any case, the money will not play a role for him. He has more than enough of that. The decisive factor will be who suits the new car better.”

Hamilton won six F1 world titles in seven seasons with Mercedes between 2014 and 2020 to move joint-top of the all-time championship standings. But his dominance in the sport has been halted by Red Bull ace Max Verstappen, who clinched his maiden title at the final race of the season in 2021 before cruising to another championship triumph this year.

And Schumacher believes Hamilton could struggle to keep pace with the Dutchman in the future. “Although Lewis Hamilton is still an absolute top driver, he is no longer the youngest since the tooth of time gnaws,” the 47-year-old continued.

“Max and Lewis are still the most complete drivers in the field. However, Lewis already had a hard fight with George [Russell] within the team. Max with [Sergio] Perez only briefly at the beginning of the season. One thing is certain, Max is close to his zenith and will be able to keep it up for a long time due to his age. Lewis has to do more to be at the limit, fight more for it.”

Hamilton welcomed a new team-mate to Mercedes at the start of 2022 as Russell replaced Valtteri Bottas after starring for Williams. The Silver Arrows suffered misery on the track, however, as their car battled porpoising issues following a major redesign in the wake of regulation changes.

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Russell appeared to deal with the problems better than Hamilton and ended the season two places and 35 points ahead of his compatriot. And Schumacher says Russell could even force Hamilton into retirement.

“Let’s assume George Russell is faster than Lewis Hamilton again [next year],” Schumacher added. “Will he (Hamilton) then continue at all? This will be exciting. Russell is great. It’s important to remember that as a young driver he joined Lewis as a team-mate who was top dog in every respect. Still, he hit him. That gnaws at Lewis. Under these circumstances, George’s performance is even better for me than Nico Rosberg’s in 2016.”

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