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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has ruled out the possibility of Lewis Hamilton retiring from the sport at the end of this season. Denouncing the recent rumours which questioned Hamilton’s future in F1, Wolff said the seven-time world champion knows when to retire without anyone else having to tell him. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:
“I think he knows pretty well the time to retire. Nobody can take [away] the legend status anymore and we are here to provide him with a machine that is capable to win him an eighth title, whether it is this year or next.”
Lewis Hamilton currently has a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2023. However, following the team’s struggles this season, many have suggested that the Briton may consider leaving the sport by the end of the season.
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After a woeful performance at the Imola GP, where Hamilton finished a disappointing P13, Red Bull Racing's Helmut Marko suggested that the driver should have retired at the end of 2021 after losing the title to Max Verstappen.
However, Hamilton himself has brushed off the suggestions, labeling some of them as “silly”.
George Russell is doing a “fine job” against Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes: Brundle
Former F1 driver and beloved TV pundit Martin Brundle feels that George Russell has done a “fine job” at Mercedes so far this season, especially, considering Lewis Hamilton’s struggles in the same car. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Brundle said:
"I think George is handling a bad car better than Lewis is. He's doing a fine job and I think he's very special. I'm not at all surprised he's at least matching Lewis, that's exactly what I expected him to do.
"George has still got all the motivation and the enthusiasm, and he has had three years of manhandling a Williams around, getting better results than it perhaps should have done.”
George Russell has managed to finish in the top 5 at every race this season, the only driver to have done so, even though Mercedes have been struggling with various issues that are costing them valuable performance.
While Hamilton hasn’t been that far off Russell’s pace all through the season, he has struggled to put together a decent weekend. In Jeddah, a poor qualifying ruined his chances of a good start and come race day, he failed to recover from a bad Friday qualifying in Imola.
