Wolff wants Hamilton to further extend Mercedes stay
MERCEDES boss Toto Wolff said he hopes Lewis Hamilton will stay with the Silver Arrows beyond the end of this season.
Hamilton is gearing up for his assault on an eighth World Championship at this weekend’s Formula One curtain raiser in Bahrain.
The 36-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season after he signed only a one-year extension with Mercedes during the winter break.
The shortness of the deal raised the prospect that this could be the British driver’s 15th and final campaign on the grid.
But on the eve of his title defence, Hamilton said he has no plans to stop.
Asked if Hamilton will be in a Mercedes car next year, team principal Wolff said: “I hope so. The journey that we have had together has been very successful.
“He has been a Mercedes driver since his go-karting years and he has never raced a single weekend in Formula One without a Mercedes engine, so it is the logical continuation of the story.
“We don’t want to leave it until February again to confirm our two drivers. Valtteri (Bottas) signed last summer, and this is the time when it should happen. It allows the driver to concentrate on the job.
“There are lots of balls in the air and we are always trying to do the best for the team in the long-term, while being loyal to our current driver line-up. Discussions are going to happen, but not in January.”
Hamilton will be 37 next year and Wolff has more than one eye on the future. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Williams’ George Russell (both 23) are on his radar.
Russell, a Mercedes junior driver, impressed as Hamilton’s stand-in at last December’s Sakhir Grand Prix after the world champion had coronavirus.
And Mclaren boss Zak Brown believes there is a strong chance that both Verstappen and Russell could occupy the Mercedes seats in 2022.
“George is out of contract this year and he obviously has a relationship with Mercedes,” said Brown. “He did a great job here in Bahrain last year.
“I’ve never seen Max’s contract but I understand that there’s probably a possibility for him to drive elsewhere next year.
“Mercedes and Toto are able to attract an awesome driver lineup so if those two guys are floating around, depending on what Toto decides with this current driver line-up, you could see it happening.”
Meanwhile, Verstappen raised the possibility of a fascinating title duel with Hamilton by completing a practice double in Bahrain.
As Formula One roared back into life in the Gulf Kingdom, Verstappen delivered on Red
Bull’s encouraging pre-season form to end both of yesterday’s sessions at the top of the time charts.
Hamilton, who galloped to his record-equalling seventh world title with three rounds to spare last year, was third, 0.235 seconds behind.
Lando Norris split Verstappen and Hamilton by finishing second, and within one tenth of the Red Bull driver, on an impressive evening for the British driver and his resurgent Mclaren team.
Ferrari’s new signing Carlos Sainz was fourth ahead of Mercedes’ Bottas, with Daniel Ricciardo in sixth place following his switch from Renault to Mclaren.
On the eve of the new campaign, Hamilton said his all-conquering Mercedes team were no longer the fastest on the grid.
And judging on the evidence of the opening day of the new campaign, it certainly appears as though Hamilton will not have it all his own way as he bids to move clear of Michael Schumacher with an unprecedented eighth world title.
Mercedes have dominated the sport, winning the past seven drivers’ and constructors’ championships, but there is now a growing feeling that the chasing pack have managed to close the gap.
Indeed, 15 of the 20 drivers were covered by less than one second.