It is no surprise Mercedes is far from their brilliant self in the past decade. The team not only fell short in 2022 but they’re on course to repeat the previous season in 2023 as well. This is the only reason the soon-ending contract of Lewis Hamilton has not been renewed yet. The Brit has been vocal about the car’s shortcomings from the start of the 2022 season. Heading into 2023, the prolonged poor state around the car is unacceptable.

Hamilton has been voicing his opinion on the car which was initially ignored. However, the boss, Toto Wolff, came to his wits and accepted the W14’s concept’s shortcomings. This is exactly why, as quoted by Express, Damon Hill believes the contract extension talks are on halt despite the timeline set on the contract.

“The question was raised in 2022 – is it the right way to go? 2023 comes around, still no race-winning car. It didn’t need Lewis to point it out. But Lewis was vocal. He was echoing what everyone was feeling and saying. Toto Wolff will bang heads together and say: ‘We need to make changes’. I think Lewis can probably wait a little bit longer until he feels confident,” said Damon Hill.

“I can’t imagine that Mercedes are pressuring him. They know that they’ve got things to work out. They have made some changes to their design structure. A bit of shuffling around. You could read that as a [sign] to Lewis that they are going to make changes at Mercedes, so they have a competitive car going, forwards,” concluded the 1996 world champion.

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Wolff has voiced his plan to change the Mercedes car and get the back to the top. However, these changes need to start bearing fruit soon. If Hamilton doesn’t feel confident in the team’s approach, Hill believes a change is imminent and even shined some light on Hamilton’s possible replacement.

Damon Hill feels Lewis Hamilton might leave Mercedes giving another driver an opportunity to break free from a sinking ship

The driver in question is Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Time and again, the Monegasque has suffered at the hands of his team. We saw multiple instances of that in the 2022 season. The start of the 2023 season added insult to this injury. This is exactly why most believe Leclerc wants to break free from Ferrari. Hamilton leaving Mercedes will be a perfect opportunity for Leclerc to leave Ferrari’s sinking ship. Damon Hill also shares this opinion and feels the Monegasque will be a perfect replacement.

“He [Leclerc] would be a strong bet,” Hill said. “He is a talent that a lot of people feel is wasted at Ferrari. Ferrari have not given him what he needs to develop, and to deliver results. I can imagine the frustration is getting to Charles. If Mercedes said to him: ‘Lewis is deciding to move on, would you be interested?’ I’m sure he’d jump at that chance.”

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Toto Wolff desperately wants to keep a hold of Hamilton. Only time will tell who gets their wish!