Despite Lewis Hamilton's 'accountability' remarks, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is still 'sticking together' with the 7x champ

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff claims his team is 'sticking together' amidst Lewis Hamilton's claims that the team did not listen to him with regards to car development. The seven-time world champion claimed that Mercedes needed to take accountability for their poor form in 2022 and 2023.

Wolff insists that all is well in the Mercedes camp despite Hamilton's comments about the team's development strategy. The Silver Arrows were hopeful of shaking the pecking order after making good progress late last year.

They had a woeful time in the first race of the year though. The seven-time world champion was bested by his long-time rival Fernando Alonso while George Russell was beaten to sixth place.

Lewis Hamilton lashed out at his team's strategy in an interview with BBC 5, claiming that they didn't 'listen' to him while developing this year's car.

Toto Wolff spoke about the team's unity to Autosport, saying:

"The Lewis situation is you heard him on the [team] radio. He is an integral part of the team, picking the team up and we are all sticking together and I don’t think that is going to change just because we had a start that was really bad,"

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Lewis Hamilton is prepared for a championship battle

Lewis Hamilton recently claimed he has prepared himself for a championship battle this season despite having had his worst season in the sport last year.

The seven-time world champion was far removed from the title race as Red Bull and Max Verstappen ran away with both titles in 2022.

The Brackley-based team struggled to fully comprehend the newly introduced aerodynamic regulations at the beginning of 2022, which caused a significant decline in their performance.

This ultimately prevented Hamilton from avenging his loss against Max Verstappen. The Belgian-Dutch driver narrowly clinched his first championship title in the final race of 2021. Despite the challenges faced last year, Hamilton has stated that he is ready for a championship battle later this year.

Speaking to the media, Lewis Hamilton said about the new season:

"We'll find out in the next couple of days - what's realistic. But I mean, that's what I have prepared for. I have prepared myself for a championship battle, whether or not we have the equipment to fight for the championship, we'll find out. I do believe I have got the team still that are championship worthy. It's just for us to keep our heads down."

Given Mercedes' woeful start to the 2022 season, Hamilton's much-elusive eighth title remains a distant dream for the Briton.