Mercedes Components 1 group principal Toto Wolff has claimed solutions he’s “blissful” that Lewis Hamilton is leaving the group have taken his feedback “out of context”.
Hamilton is coming into his final three races in Mercedes colors earlier than his change to Ferrari for subsequent yr, having gained six F1 drivers’ titles in his time with the Brackley-based outfit that he joined in 2013.
It left Mercedes with a seat to fill alongside George Russell, with teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli chosen to make the step up from Components 2.
Within the new Inside Mercedes F1: Life within the Quick Lane ebook, Wolff mentioned that Hamilton’s choice to depart was a optimistic as “it avoids the second the place we have to inform the game’s most iconic driver that we need to cease”.
“There’s a purpose why we solely signed a one-plus-one-year contract,” he added.
“We’re in a sport the place cognitive sharpness is extraordinarily vital, and I consider everybody has a shelf life.”
That remark sparked media protection and social media debate however talking to BBC Radio 4’s Right this moment programme forward of the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, Wolff clarified: “You recognize that was taken a bit bit out of context.
Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Staff, within the storage
Photograph by: Mark Sutton
“What I used to be referring to was that every one of us age, whether or not it’s in a automotive, on a pitch, or as a supervisor or entrepreneur.
“And that’s what I’m attempting to do with myself; perceive, ‘Am I going from nice to good?’ As a result of good shouldn’t be in Components 1 anymore.
“Now opposite to my very own self-assessment, I feel we see with Lewis that he’s very a lot there when the automotive is true. And we haven’t been capable of give him that automotive to carry out his finest, and that could be a frustration that we share equally within the group, and for himself.
“However he’s very sharp. He’s completely different to when he was a 20-year-old, that’s actually clear. However his expertise and his race craft is large.”
Hamilton has gained two races in his Mercedes swansong yr, ending a drought courting again to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with an emotional victory on the British GP.
The 39-year-old additionally gained the Belgian GP after team-mate George Russell, who crossed the end line first, was disqualified for operating underweight.
Russell is 2 factors forward of Hamilton heading into this weekend’s Las Vegas GP, with Mercedes shifting its consideration to 2025 having accepted it’s unlikely to enhance on fourth within the constructors’ standings.