"He hasn't lost an ounce of his competitiveness" - Lewis Hamilton praises Mercedes leader amid team slump

Lewis Hamilton claimed that Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had not lost an "ounce of competitiveness" during the past two seasons in the sport.

The German team has only won once since the beginning of the 2022 season when the sport introduced new regulations. Mercedes have struggled to challenge their rival and world champions Red Bull and have finished P3 and P2 in the Constructors' Championship in 2022 and 2023.

Speaking with RacingNews365, Lewis Hamilton stated that Wolff has not lost competitiveness and is as motivated as ever, despite the lack of success in two years. He said:

"He hasn't lost an ounce of his competitiveness. He’s massively competitive. You see it on TV when you sit down at his little desk in the garage and are trying to find a balance in life, work life and family life. I think he's done a great job there."

"[He's] just continuing to push everyone. He’s a very, very approachable leader, people can relate to him, to his emotions, to his compassion, and his drive. He’s very understanding," the Brit added.

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Lewis Hamilton hopeful that "North Star" W15 will deliver in 2023

Lewis Hamilton stated that the Mercedes F1 team have found a "North Star" while developing the W15 ahead of the 2024 season. Speaking with BBC, the seven-time world champion mentioned that they have found the path to develop the car and make it competitive for next year.

He said (via RacingNews365):

"I do believe we have a North Star now, which I don’t think we’ve had for two years. But still getting there is not a straight line. And there were just certain things, decisions that have been made, that just left you blocked at the end of a road, and you can’t do anything because of the cost cap and all these different things."

"We had a lot of aero on that first car last year. We had to basically knock a ton of downforce off it and then slowly try to add. But every time we tried to add, it was worse. So, we just didn’t improve for a long, long, long time," Hamilton added.

It would be interesting to see if the W15 turns out to be the "North Star" that Lewis Hamilton proclaims it to be when it hits the track in the pre-season test in Bahrain next year. Hopefully, it will deliver on its promise and challenge Red Bull for the title in 2024.