Post-Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff would 'rather not talk too much' as Mercedes starts new chapter

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted that he'd rather not talk too much about the car as the team gets ready after Lewis Hamilton's departure. The German team was caught on the backfoot when the Brit announced that he would not be a part of them beyond 2024.

The announcement was made at the start of 2024 and left Mercedes with not too many viable options on the table. In the meantime, Hamilton has moved to Ferrari in pursuit of trying to achieve an eighth world title. For Toto Wolff, however, this is the time to rebuild. He has Kimi Antonelli and George Russell at the team, the two drivers who can get the job done if the car is right.

The problem for Mercedes since 2022 has been the lack of a competitive and somewhat predictable car. The German team has struggled on that front, and it has hurt the squad a lot. Lewis Hamilton was unable to have a car underneath him that was easy to set up and was easy to extract the lap time from.

While Lewis Hamilton now gets ready for life at Ferrari, Mercedes is beginning a new chapter as well, and this time around, Toto Wolff would rather keep quiet and let the results speak for themselves. As quoted by RacingNews365, the Austrian said:

"These cars are so complicated to hit the sweet spot, that we've only done it on a few occasions. We were ultra-dominant in Las Vegas, and then at other tracks, we were unable to contest for a podium."

He added:

"So I'd rather not talk too much and see how we can perform in the tests, and see whether we have solved some of those balance issues, get on top of the tyres and then we shall see. George is ready to fight for the championship, we've got to provide him and Kimi [Antonelli] with a car that is fast enough."

F1 pundit on Silver lining of Lewis Hamilton's crash in testing

Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari in a private test for the team, leading to speculation from a few that the driver might not be in the best groove. F1 pundit Peter Windsor thinks otherwise, as he pointed out that one the reasons why Hamilton had a crash was because he was pushing the car and was already comfortable in it.

He said (via PlanetF1):

“On the face of it, Lewis Hamilton’s first proper test with Ferrari was not the greatest of tests in that it ended in a massive shunt coming out of the last corner. My take is that it was actually a very, very good test for Lewis and I think all Lewis Hamilton fans can feel delighted at the way that test went. Yes, there was the shunt – but let’s look at the buildup to that shunt and the reasons for it."

He added:

“Nothing to do with a bump on the road or any of that stuff, it was all tied to how good Lewis felt in the car and how he’s feeling within the team. He feels great in the team and that car, the 2023 Ferrari, which was not the greatest of grand prix cars built by Ferrari. But in that car, Lewis Hamilton felt better than he’s felt certainly over the last couple of years in Formula 1 in the Mercedes, probably going back to the beginning of 2022."

The first season of the Brit on the team is going to be something very interesting, especially since there are going to be quite a few keeping an eye on how he fares against Charles Leclerc.