All Eyes on 38-Year-Old Lewis Hamilton to “Wrestling” With Toto Wolff for Mercedes F1 Contract

The 2022 season stuck out like a sore thumb in the curriculum vitae of the Mercedes team. The seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, saw a season without a win for the first time. With a car that certainly not matching his abilities, he still came close to the top step of the podium on several occasions. It is safe to say that this season, post the trauma of Abu Dhabi 2021, must have been the most difficult of seasons for Britton. Is that why a contract pending to expire this very year has not been renewed yet? According to the Silver Arrows Boss, Toto Wolff, the real reason that a contract hasn’t been signed is in fact, Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis celebrated his 38th birthday in Antarctica. With the champion’s globe-trotting intentions, the negotiations of the new contract are getting delayed. As quoted by express.co.uk, Wolff has admitted talks over a new contract are yet to begin as their rockstar driver is not currently in Europe. However, adding calmly, he stated, “We have a full year to go.” 

Hamilton had also clarified his intentions to sign a multiyear deal, last year in Mexico, saying, “I’m planning to do a multi-year deal with my team. I really, really don’t know what the next five years [hold]. I think we’re still trying to work on that.” Toto Wolff, echoing his driver’s intentions, said, “We have been so aligned. In the last 10 years, our relationship has grown. It is just a matter of him being back in Europe, [us] sticking our heads together, wrestling a bit and then leaving the room with white smoke after a few hours.”

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The 38-year-old had also laid out a litmus test for himself. He said, “Are you willing to give up all your time to prepare and train and work with the team and deliver? If there’s ever a moment that I’m arriving and I’m just coasting along…. that’s when I should stop. I question myself as to whether I’m able to do that and whether I want to do that, and the answer is yes.”

The zeal that he displayed fighting not with other drivers but with his own car in 2022 answers these questions for us with even better clarity. The German team could not offer their drivers a race-winning car for the 2022 season. Unprecedented struggles on the track and back at the factory became a humbling experience for the team.

A Dark Year for the Brixworth and Brackley Outfit

The 2021 season saw Lewis lose out on his eighth world title in a very close-fought battle. To add to the miseries of the team, 2022 became a losing game since its inception. The team failed to build a car matching the standards they had set for themselves and for the other teams in the hybrid era. It was difficult to even get a podium in the first half of the season.

The team soon re-huddled and made several improvements to the W13. The second half of the season was their silver lining. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton took the championship fight to Maranello. They gave tough competition to Ferrari for a P2 in the constructors’ championship, ultimately settling for a P3.

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A contract extension just around the corner will see the furtherance of the historic and most successful collaboration in F1. Can Toto and Lewis reclaim their glorious past?