Toto Wolff needs to gain Lewis Hamilton's 'total and absolute confidence' after a shaky start to the 2023 F1 season, according to Eddie Jordan

Eddie Jordan believes Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff needs to gain the 'total and absolute confidence' of Lewis Hamilton after a shaky start to the 2023 campaign.

Jordan ran his own team in the sport for nearly a decade and a half. He knows how important it is to keep everyone happy in an F1 team, something Mercedes have not been able to do since the start of the new ground-effect era.

After a disappointing 2022 with the W13, Mercedes believed the W14 would help bring the team back on track. Unfortunately, the Silver Arrows still appear to be playing catch-up to reigning world champions Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton openly criticized Mercedes for not taking his input onboard while developing the W14 amid concerns that he may not renew his deal with the team. In an interview with the Daily Express in England, Jordan admitted that he was on the same page as Hamilton. He said:

“I’m critical of Toto (Wolff) and I'm critical of the team. With the power and might and the knowledge and the backing they've had, Mercedes should be at least competitive to give us, the paying punters, a really good fight. I don't want to go and see a Grand Prix who’s going to come third to the Red Bulls.

"At the moment unfortunately that’s what’s happening. I think Toto needs to rally his troops, he needs to gain total and absolute confidence of all parties, including Lewis (Hamilton)."

Toto Wolff has admitted that the team back at Brackley and Brixworth may need to totally rethink the developmental direction they will take with the W14 for the rest of the 2023 season.

While there was some promise on display during the 2023 F1 Australian GP, Wolff and his team will need to find a way to ensure they can be consistently competitive if they want Hamilton to stay beyond 2023.

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will have no hard feelings if Lewis Hamilton leaves the team

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that he will have no hard feelings if Lewis Hamilton were to leave the team for a shot at winning his eighth Drivers' World Championship title.

Hamilton took a leap of faith when he joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013, and the gamble paid massive dividends for both parties. Since then, the Briton has claimed 77 pole positions, 82 wins, 143 podiums, and six of his seven world championships with the Silver Arrows.

That rich vein of success has dried up considerably since the start of the new ground-effect era, which Red Bull has taken by storm. With time seemingly running out for the 38-year-old, Wolff can relate to the sense of urgency Hamilton might have to secure that elusive eighth world title.

In an interview during the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP, he said:

"As a driver, if he [Lewis Hamilton] wants to win another championship, he needs to make sure that he has the car, and if we cannot demonstrate that we can give him the car in the next couple of years, then he needs to look everywhere - I don't think that he's at that stage but I would have no grouch if that happens in a year or two."

Wolff has also hinted that the team is keen to extend Lewis Hamilton's deal and keep him paired with George Russell going forward. However, it may not be that elementary given the seven-time world champion's ambitions on track and the massive salary he may hope to command off it.