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Mercedes’ ongoing struggle is no new development for the F1 audience. The debacle began right from the start of 2022 and is continuing to this day. However, what came as a shocker for most was when Lewis Hamilton lashed out at his team for ignoring his feedback. This begged the question, do the Silver Arrows not value him and his opinion despite him being the team’s senior driver and, above all, arguably the most successful driver in the sport’s history?

As fans of the sport continue to ponder over the question, the Briton has dropped a subtle message. The message came through the words of one of humankind’s most powerful personalities- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Known for his powerful speeches and his crusade against racial discrimination in America, Dr. King holds a special place in Lewis’ heart. To mark his respect for MLK Day in January, Hamilton even shared a powerful post from Dr. King’s daughter, Bernice.

Lewis Hamilton once again seeks inspiration from MLK

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During the launch of their 2023 car, the W14, team Mercedes looked confident with what they had put together. However, once other challengers put on display their pace during the season opener in Bahrain, the Silver Arrows were left wanting. The resultant frustration of continued failure had Hamilton posing questions to his team.

As his worth at Mercedes comes under doubt, the 7-time champion shared a post from WACO Theater Center through an Instagram Story. The post features a snippet from one of Dr. King’s powerful speeches.

In the snippet, Dr. King proclaimed, Number one in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodiness. Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you are nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.”

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It is worth noting that the post comes during a time when Hamilton is in the final year of his contract with Mercedes. Meanwhile, both parties haven’t reached a breakthrough on an extension.

Toto Wolff believes Lewis won’t stay for too long if Mercedes continues to underperform

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Let us face it, the biggest reason Hamilton is still hanging around despite his age is the hunger for that coveted, never-done-before, 8th world championship win. And being a 38-year-old, he does not have much time and team boss Toto Wolff realizes that. The Austrian manager even went to the extent of cautioning his team to pull it together if they want to retain their star driver.

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“If Lewis wants to win another championship he needs to make sure he has the car,” The Guardian quoted Toto as saying recently. “And if we cannot demonstrate that we are able to give him a car in the next couple of years then he will need to look everywhere. I don’t think he is doing it at this stage, but I will have no complaints if that happens in a year or two.”

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Watch This Story: Lewis Hamilton: Ranking His F1 World Titles From 2008 to 2020

The only saving grace for Mercedes this season until now has been Hamilton’s P2 finish in Melbourne. The team will look to build on this momentum after failing to register any podium finishes from the first two races.