Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Hungaroring, 2019

Mercedes want the best driver and he wants the quickest car – Wolff

2020 F1 season

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes it would be mutually beneficial for Lewis Hamilton to continue driving for the team after the 2020 F1 season.

“I think it is the obvious pairing going forward,” said Wolff at an event in London yesterday. “We would like to have the fastest man in the car. And I know that Lewis wants to be in the fastest car. So there is a obvious mutual outcome.”

The contract talks between the parties are due to resume soon, said Wolff. “We travel around the world almost 10 months every year, we go on our nerves every second weekend, and what we do over the winter is we leave each other in peace.

“The last conversation I had with him was on the evening before the Christmas party where we had a nice chat that we would continue our discussion or start our discussion once he comes back from America and we have properly kicked off the season.”

Wolff is convinced Mercedes can retain Hamilton, who has won the last three world championships in a row.

“I have great belief in the abilities of the team to attract the best drivers and at the moment Lewis has proven that he is the best current driver with six titles,” he said. “On the mid and long-term I would hope that we are able to continue to provide technology to the best driver and attract them.”

Hamilton’s rivals Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have already extended their contracts with Ferrari and Red Bull respectively for several years. Wolff said he isn’t concerned that will leave the team short of quality options if it needs a replacement for either of its drivers.

“We have very exciting young drivers that are part of the Mercedes family. Like George Russell who is a Mercedes junior driver, who I foresee a bright future. Then we have Esteban [Ocon] who is not far away, he is with Renault today but he’s a cousin of the Mercedes family today.

“Looking at Max and Charles, these guys will always try to be in the fastest cars. Contracts are contracts but probably sometimes the detail is what is important and not the overhead line on how long a contract has been signed.

“Therefore I see our duty in providing a car, producing the car that is the quickest, and then we will not run out of talent that would be keen and eager to drive these cars.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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12 comments on “Mercedes want the best driver and he wants the quickest car – Wolff”

  1. “We would like to have the fastest man in the car.”
    And since Max is not available anymore, me might have a go at Daniel………or be stuck with Lewis.

    1. Stuck with Lewis? I don’t follow your logic. Do you know who Lewis Hamilton is?

    2. Cristiano Ferreira
      11th February 2020, 16:53

      As much as I dislike Hamilton and Mercedes, it’s silly to say that Hamilton is slower than Daniel… and I like Daniel Ricciardo.

      As for Verstappen, well i agree with you.

  2. “Looking at Max and Charles, these guys will always try to be in the fastest cars. Contracts are contracts but probably sometimes the detail is what is important and not the overhead line on how long a contract has been signed.

    If needed they will try to buy one of these drivers out if we read this line?

    1. More likely means that the fastest drivers always find their way into the fastest cars; whatever their contracts say.

      1. *sad Alonso noises*

  3. Contracts are contracts but probably sometimes the detail is what is important and not the overhead line on how long a contract has been signed.

    That also means he may had some influence over Max exit clauses demands after Jos Verstappen consulted him. Leave the door open. The wind may change…

    1. If Mercedes is still on top when the new era starts in 2021, Max will 100% be driving for them in 2022. Doesn’t matter how long Red Bull thinks they have Max tied down. He isn’t going to wait forever for Red Bull and Honda to get their act together.

      1. @todfod Interesting opinion, but there are two sides to the negotiating table. I see LH at Mercedes for the next 3 to 5 years. If Max decides after 2021 he doesn’t want to wait any longer at RBR, does that mean he can just walk over to Mercedes and be LH’s teammate? You think they want that at Mercedes? That LH wants that? In your scenario they’ll still have the WCC car, so why would they take Max with LH there? I mean, I think Max would go theoretically, if he felt that disgruntled that RBR/ Honda were never going to get to the necessary level, and if Mercedes still had the only capable car, but for now that is hard to imagine, and I think the odds of your scenario are certainly far from 100%.

        The other thing to keep in mind is that come 2021 F1 should theoretically start to be a little more of a drivers series and a little less of a money and car series…the pendulum swinging a little more towards the driver, with teams closer to each other and cars able to physically be closer to each other on track. Put another way, Max could be one of those rare Champions that wins the big prize with a car that isn’t the WCC one, but a close second. Perhaps Max might observe in 2021 that the RBR/Honda will be plenty of car to get the job done, for him.

    2. Only Facts! Not sure what you mean by exit clauses and Jos…sounds like rhetoric to me…but suffice it to say that no matter what a contract says, if it comes to a worst-case point where a driver simply refuses and will not drive another season for the team under which he has a contract, for whatever reason(s), one cannot force said driver to get in the car and drive, and especially do so effectively, so in that sense every contract has an ‘out clause’ or at least there is alway an avenue for a driver to leave, even if it means (and always does) cutting a cheque to break the contract, and/or having one’s new team do that as part of the driver’s new deal.

  4. ”a cousin of the Mercedes family”
    – An interesting way of figuratively referring to the only remaining link he has to Mercedes at present, which is limited to the management-side.

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