"We've got a great leader" - Lewis Hamilton praises Toto Wolff's role in taking Mercedes to the fight against Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton believes Toto Wolff’s leadership is responsible for Mercedes being a strong contender for Red Bull rather than Ferrari. The Briton felt his Austrian boss was responsible in making the team stronger and an energetic place to work in, which makes a difference compared to rival teams.

Asked what made Mercedes a stronger competitor to Red Bull than Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton said that although he'd claimed that they don't make mistakes, as humans, they "clearly" make them. He added that his team has "a lot of strength in depth," and he attributed this to the team's leadership.

Hamilton continued to say:

“We've got a great leader. We've got amazing support from the Daimler board who all like racing. Passionate racers. And then I think it's the core group of people. There’s great communication throughout the organization."

The racing driver said that Toto was "very focused" as a leader to help elevate people. He commented on the latter's ability to care, and ask questions about his team's welfare and their family. Hamilton noted that it was due to this that there was a "real general hunger" within the team.

Speaking at a press conference, the 37-year-old said that it was Wolff's leadership and management skills that helped make their team better in terms of organization and passion.

Lewis Hamilton believes the leadership skills and motivation his boss brings to the team makes it an exceptional workplace even when they haven’t been in a position to win. The seven-time world champion was adamant his team did not make any mistakes despite their poor development of the 2013 car, instead he felt they were human.

The Briton felt Wolff’s leadership made their team a stronger competition to Red Bull compared to Ferrari.

---

Lewis Hamilton hopes for more than a two-way battle in 2023

The champion felt that although Mercedes had a glitched start to 2022, they might be the only ones with the capability to take the fight to Red Bull in the true essence of a strong competitor. However, Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari are strong and other competitors such as Alpine and McLaren also have the means to join the championship fight.

He hopes for more than a two-team battle in the future to make the championship more interesting. Looking forward to more than just Mercedes competing for titles, Lewis Hamilton said that hoped that Ferrari comes back stronger in the next few years.

He added that the team has "definitely had a difficult year," but added that there have been strong signs that were nice to see. He noted that it was nice to see the other team doing well.

As he spoke about hoping to have more than a two-way battle next year, Hamilton said:

“I hope there's at least three of us. If not, surprisingly, maybe more. Like, why can't McLaren be there? We'll see. Or even Alpine’s been doing amazing. So we'll see.”

The Briton hopes to have at least three competitors in the mix for the championship battle next year. The last time there was more than one team or driver fighting for the championship was when Lewis Hamilton had debut in 2007 and Kimi Raikkonen won the title. Kimi remains Ferrari’s last world champion, as the Maranello team have struggled to claim a title in almost two decades.