Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is planning to have a conversation with Lewis Hamilton's teammate George Russell after what was a challenging season for the young Brit driver. Russell made his way into the German squad in 2022 and impressed everyone. He was consistent in the manner in which he got results out of the car.
The first season proved to be a great success for Russell as he did end up beating Hamilton in the championship. Not only that, he also got the team's only pole position and win of the 2022 F1 season. But the 2023 F1 season was somewhat different for Russell as he was unable to keep up the level of consistency.
The 2023 F1 season saw him make quite a few mistakes while Hamilton ended up extending his advantage. The Mercedes veteran outscored his younger teammate comprehensively by the time the season was done.
Talking about his two drivers, Wolff admitted that he would be having a conversation with Russell.
“We will have a good conversation. Everybody needs some feedback. He’s a very strong character, and he came out of the summer very strong. He changed his approach a little bit, and that was good, and then it swung the other way around and Lewis performed extraordinarily well,” he was quoted as saying by PlanetF1.
About the swings of form suffered by both Mercedes drivers, Wolff added:
“I think these swings happen from track to track. With these fragile cars, you can go from a very good weekend to a very bad one suddenly.”
"Everybody needs an arm around the shoulder": Wolff on Lewis Hamilton's teammate
Talking about his drivers and how sometimes one needs to have an arm around the shoulder, the Mercedes boss stated that there are moments in one's career when one needs an arm around their shoulder.
“Everybody needs an arm around the shoulder. I have my wife who puts an arm around my shoulder. Everybody needs an arm around them, all of the high performers,” Toto Wolff explained.
In terms of driving, Lewis Hamilton had a brilliant season. He finished the season third in the championship and almost nicked P2 from Red Bull's Sergio Perez.
Hamilton, however, would be hoping for a better car and fighting for the title in the 2024 F1 season. The Brit has not won a race for two years now in what has been the longest dry spell of his career.