“I would ban Lewis Hamilton from taking the phone into the garage”: Former Ferrari driver advises Mercedes ahead of the driver's impending departure

Former Ferrari driver Ivan Capelli opined that Mercedes should curb Lewis Hamilton's phone use in the garage from mid-season to hide sensitive information about future development from him.

This is mainly because the Brit will be joining Ferrari in 2025 and could, as per Capelli, share important secrets about his former team. Speaking to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, Capelli also implied that the sooner the two parties break off their working relationship, the less information the seven-time drivers' world champion will obtain about Mercedes.

"If I were Mercedes, I would ban him from taking the phone into the garage from mid-season to be on the safe side. The closer they get to the end of the working relationship, the less Mercedes will give information to Hamilton. Still, Hamilton himself will certainly give everything all season," said Capelli.

Having been with Mercedes for 12 years, Lewis Hamilton perhaps has a strong relationship with the Brackley-based outfit. He would have been in countless important meetings and by now, would be aware of the ins and outs of the team he has helped win eight consecutive Constructors World Champions from 2014 to 2021.

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Mercedes team boss reveals why Lewis Hamilton did not receive a long-term contract

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recently explained why Lewis Hamilton did not receive a long-term contract. Speaking to ORF, he initially recalled losing Max Verstappen to Red Bull back in 2014, when Mercedes had long-term contracts with Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

"There was a situation many years ago where we had the opportunity to let Max drive. And that wasn't possible back then because we simply didn't have a cockpit. [Nico] Rosberg and Hamilton were tied to us long-term, and Red Bull naturally seized the opportunity. They gave him a contract with Toro Rosso, with the possibility of driving for Red Bull the following year," Wolff said (via Independent)

Since Wolff lost the opportunity to bring Verstappen to Mercedes, he claims that he now wants to have the option of hiring Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli in the future.

"We then lost the young driver, and you can see how successful he has become. And precisely because we have a junior on the horizon who is really driving at a very high level, I simply wanted to keep this option open," Wolff added.

Antonelli has been under the Mercedes umbrella since 2019. He has won several karting and motorsport series and will start his F2 career in 2024 with Prema Racing after skipping F3 altogether.