Mercedes boss Toto Wolff cautioned against dismissing Lewis Hamilton despite his challenging start to his tenure at Ferrari.
In the current F1 season, Hamilton has not yet achieved a podium finish in his initial ten races with Ferrari, having moved from Mercedes at the end of the previous season. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, has secured three podiums and holds a 25-point lead over Hamilton in the championship standings; Hamilton`s top results have occurred in Sprint races.
Wolff, who oversaw Hamilton`s era of dominance at Mercedes where they won six championships together over 12 seasons, suggested that an adjustment period is to be expected for the British driver in his new environment.
“You don`t unlearn driving that quickly,” Wolff commented on the Bloomberg Hot Pursuit podcast.
“He was excellent in 2021. Although the regulation changes made things slightly harder, he maintained a very high performance level.
Simply by switching teams, you don`t suddenly lose your skills.
I believe everyone requires a period to adapt. It`s a different car with a different driving feel, and you need time to build a working relationship with a new engineering team and contribute to the car`s ongoing development to match your driving style.
It`s an entirely Italian team; he`s a British driver entering that setup – and that takes time.
Furthermore, we`ve observed a pattern where Lewis tends to find his rhythm in the latter half of the season, which has historically been very strong for him.
Therefore, never discount Lewis Hamilton.”
Wolff on His Relationship with Hamilton
Hamilton and Wolff forged one of F1`s most renowned and successful partnerships between a team principal and driver. Together at Mercedes, they secured six of Hamilton`s seven world titles and the team achieved a remarkable eight consecutive Constructors` Championships.
This marks the first season since Wolff joined Mercedes in 2013 that he hasn`t collaborated with Hamilton. The Austrian commented:
“You always have to miss a person like Lewis Hamilton.
We remain close friends. We made a promise to each other that our friendship would endure.
On track, we compete fiercely, fighting for our respective teams – that`s our understanding. But off track, we spend time together, travel together, and I wouldn`t want to lose the friend that I`ve gotten for so many years.
It was the longest driver-team partnership, 12 years – something rarely seen in sports. And when it comes to developing the car, obviously, he has a lot of experience, he has seen it all and to replace someone like Lewis Hamilton is always going to be difficult.”
Assessing Kimi Antonelli`s Progress
With George Russell stepping into the senior driver role after Hamilton`s departure, the Mercedes team at Brackley opted for a future-focused approach for the other seat, promoting Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli to Formula 1.
The 18-year-old Italian has already reached key milestones in his rookie F1 season, securing his first Sprint pole in Miami and his first podium in Canada, a race won by Russell. However, he has also faced some difficult weekends, as is typical for a newcomer.
When asked how long it might take a young driver like Antonelli to perform at their peak in F1, Wolff responded:
“That has changed in recent years because tyre management is now so difficult.
It`s not just about outright speed – how fast you can go on a single lap or during a race – but about managing the tyres to drive as quickly as possible without sliding or overheating them, as that significantly impacts lap time. This is the main challenge for young drivers coming up.
A good example is Piastri. It took him a year and a half to catch up to Lando Norris, and this year is the first where he has an edge, which I believe is due to tyre management.
For Kimi, he isn`t familiar with all the tracks. Montreal was a first for him, starting at a massive disadvantage, but the car was good and he was able to be fast.
However, you probably need to look at the three-year programme and say that`s the time it needs for a young driver to challenge your more experienced team-mates, that are also super-fast. I mean, George today is among the best drivers in Formula 1. That`s something you need to give them, time.”
