"I have no doubt he is motivated": Mercedes boss Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has received the backing of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, with the Austrian squashing doubts about his driver's motivation.

The W14 has not been the most rewarding machinery for the German unit this season. Lewis Hamilton has been going through a barren patch as well. The Mercedes driver had won at least one race in every season he had raced since his debut in 2007. That streak ended in 2022 and the Brit is still waiting for his 104th race win.

Toto Wolff recently backed his driver amidst questions of waning motivation and spoke about Hamilton had been a pillar of strength for the team. As quoted by formulapassion, Wolff said:

“I think he feels very strong and we too think that this year we will not race for the drivers' championship. This is what it looks like at the moment we just need to give him a car that is capable of doing that, and hopefully, we can build a winning package for this season and then have something more that can take him to his eighth title."

The Mercedes Team Principal added:

"I have no doubt that he is motivated to achieve this, this is what he loves to do, this is his ability. Personally we have a great relationship with him and within the team he has been one of the strongest pillars of the last ten years, so we are in a really good position."

Toto Wolff on the trust between him and Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff touched on how he had to rebuild his trust with Lewis Hamilton after the disappointment of the 2016 F1 season. Talking about it in an interview with ESPN, Wolff said:

“Trust is a bit of a topic for him and me and you need to earn trust, test it, and only then can you trust and we built it up over the years. We had some tough moments, like in 2016, but we tackled it right away."

He added:

"It’s like [what] I have with Susie [Toto’s wife], if I have an issue you pick up the phone immediately and speak. Everything is being discussed and you clear the air, or you agree to disagree. And with him since then we have been super strong.”

Lewis Hamilton's contract is still something that hangs in the balance for now, and it will be interesting to see if and when the seven-time World Champion does end up extending his stay at Mercedes.