LEW CAN RULE AT NEW OUTFIT
Wolff: Hamilton will claim world title No.8 at Ferrari
TOTO WOLFF is adamant he remains the right man to lead Mercedes in the post Lewis Hamilton era.
But the Austrian admits he expects Hamilton will land his record eighth world championship at Ferrari.
The British ace raised the prospect of challenging at the sharp end of the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix after he finished second in practice.
He put his Silver Arrows at the top of the order in the first session and later ended up just 0.188 seconds behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Fernando Alonso was third for Aston Martin – nearly half a second back and one place ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – with Lando Norris fifth in his McLaren.
Mercedes arrived in Monaco on the back of a string of underwhelming results which leaves them a distant fourth in the constructors’ championship.
And their form since Hamilton lost the 2021 decider to Verstappen has put Wolff ’s future in the spotlight.
“I have always been very selfcritical and introspective,” said Wolff (above).
“Is this what I am good at? Am I working in something that I understand and I feel I can contribute?
“I ask myself that question all the time for 30 years and the decision I have taken is that I am a co-owner of this business and I am going to stay a co-owner of this business, whether I am team principal or CEO or chairman.
“I have had it in the past where suddenly you have that moment where you think there is somebody that could do this better. That day will come. But jointly (with co-owners’ Ineos and Mercedes-Benz AG) we have not identified who the next person will be.
“I still love it. Maybe one day I wake up and I don’t love it.”
Defending Mercedes recent record, Wolff said: “Ferrari haven’t won a constructors’ championship since 2008. Red Bull did not win eight times in a row because we were winning.
“So we have to look at it with a certain perspective and say it is the third year where we have not won. It is not eight. It is not 16.”
Wolff will be without Hamilton as he bids to turn Mercedes into a force again. The 39-yearold stunned the sport by cancelling his Mercedes deal a year early to switch to Ferrari.
“If Ferrari is able to give Lewis a competitive car, he can win a world championship, there is no doubt about that,” conceded Wolff.
“I will always have a personal relationship with Lewis and I will look back at the great times, professionally and personally. When Lewis moves to Ferrari he becomes a competitor but I will always wish him happy days.”
Wolff remains hopeful he can steal Verstappen away from
Red Bull to replace Hamilton, citing McLaren’s recent resurgence as proof that Mercedes could provide the Dutchman with a winning machine.
“At the moment we are not competitive enough to lure a world champion,” he said.
“But we have to see how the next months go. Look at McLaren.”