Toto Wolff’s blunt take on Mercedes woe “overshadowing” Lewis Hamilton era

Toto Wolff claims the final three underwhelming seasons of Lewis Hamilton’s tenure at Mercedes will not undermine his previous glory.

Hamilton has racked up six of his seven F1 drivers’ championships in an iconic stint at Mercedes, which will conclude at the end of this season.

In 2025 Hamilton hopes to reinvigorate his F1 title hopes by moving to Ferrari.

But Mercedes boss Wolff denied that three years of below-par machinery may “overshadow” their legendary driver’s time at the team.

“It's the most competitive motorsport in the world and we were lucky and blessed with winning eight consecutive World Championship titles,” he said.

“That wasn't done before in any other sport. And Lewis won seven drivers' championships.

“You cannot extrapolate from that that you're going to win forever or that you're in the hunt for every single championship. That doesn't happen.

“And the regs were changed twice and we maintained the level of performance and won championships.

“And then we've just been caught out by these new regulations in 2022. Until today, we're just not able to put steady performance on the car and provide the drivers with something that is predictable, that has enough downforce, that doesn't bounce or hop, that rides where the ride is acceptable, where the tyre degradation can be managed in the right way and not be too cold or too hot.

“And that is how sport goes. That's very easy.

“A basketballer was asked whether he felt that his season was a failure. And he said Michael Jordan played 12 seasons in the NBA and he won six. Does that mean that the whole thing was a failure? Were the other six a failure?

“We've been together 12 years now in this championship, and we have won eight. Are the other ones a failure?

“We finished third two years ago, we finished second last year, bearing in mind we haven't won a race, and we won three this year.

“So that is not all a failure. That was a pretty good spell for Mercedes and for Lewis.

“And we will be trying to do it better. We are trying to do it better every single day, every single weekend. And the same will be next season and then the big one in ‘26.”

'We wish Lewis the best - and a car that's not fast'

Hamilton returned to winning ways this year, with victory at the F1 British Grand Prix his first since 2021.

Red Bull took over from Abu Dhabi 2021, but Mercedes have also lagged behind McLaren and Ferrari this year.

Hamilton has only three grands prix remaining in a Mercedes before he will be decked out in red.

Wolff insisted there haven’t yet been emotional goodbyes: “I think we're still running the season. So the weekends feel like they felt before.

“You know, these meetings where long-term development is being discussed, they don't happen so regularly and we didn't have them for the last few months. So it's pretty much standard as it is.

“There is no overwhelming emotion now that this is ending, but I'm sure the closer it's going to come to Abu Dhabi and the last sessions, the last race together will be quite a thing because we had this wonderful partnership for such a long time.

“But having said that, Lewis is not going to disappear. Lewis is going to be on the grid next year with a Ferrari.

We are not losing the person, we are just losing the driver.

“But we embark on a new future. We have an 18-year-old and a 27-year-old that are going to be our drivers. And that is super exciting.

“And at the same time, personally, we wish Lewis all the best and happiness. And maybe a car that's not so fast.

“But nevertheless, it is a decision he took. And we're OK with that.”

Mercedes will pair George Russell with rookie Kimi Antonelli next year.