Lewis Hamilton 'should have had an eighth world title last year,' feels Mercedes' Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton should have had an eighth world title last year. That's the view of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff whenever he talks about the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. Lewis Hamilton was able to crawl his way back into contention in the championship from a significant points deficit last year. In the last race of the season, the Mercedes driver was on his way to winning the title. However, his pursuit was cut short by Michael Masi's safety car call.

Speaking to the media, Toto Wolff suggested that Lewis Hamilton should have had an eighth title last season. Nonetheless, he believes it now comes down to the team to give him a car capable of fighting for the title.

"I think Hamilton should have had an eighth world title last year, everybody knows that. But now we need to make a car that puts him in the position of going for that eighth title and that is fundamentally my responsibility."

"Sometimes I feel like a football coach: there's a point where there's nothing more you can do and you have to leave it to the players on the pitch to get the job done. That's why, when you're there, you have those reactions."

Mercedes picked up their third consecutive podium in Austria with a P3 finish for Lewis Hamilton. Toto Wolff did take some positives from the result but admitted the team still had work to do when it comes to fighting for wins.

"While we were quicker in Austria, we still weren't quick enough to challenge at the front. We need to keep chasing those final few tenths and bringing new developments to the cars, including this weekend in France. The aim will be to make further inroads on the gap to the front and hopefully be back on the podium."

Lewis Hamilton riding high on a 3-race podium streak

Lewis Hamilton is currently going through a purple patch of results with three consecutive podiums to his name in the last three races. The Mercedes driver now has one in Canada, Silverstone, and Austria. After the race in Austria, the Mercedes driver said:

"We had decent pace at different points of the race, even if I was racing a little bit in no-man's land. It's been a bit of a rough weekend for the team - but I'm grateful we got third and fourth today. That's great points, and we have improved the car. Now we need to keep chipping away to get back to the front."

The Mercedes driver now has four podiums to his name this season compared to teammate George Russell's three.