Lewis Hamilton Mercedes storm heart head future | F1 | Sports

For Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff, it is just the beginning of a series of headaches that his star driver Lewis Hamilton would like to continue with. There is a very real succession problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later regardless of Hamilton’s plans.

Since signing a one-year deal with Mercedes, Hamilton has been followed by both the media and fans about his future in Formula 1 and how long he has time to perform at the highest level.

At 36 he is the third oldest driver on the grid, with more than enough credentials for many lives. If he wins his eighth world title, he will be the most successful driver in F1 history in every way.

Hamilton says he wants to get a new deal beyond this season by the summer break in August, but a mystery remains for the Mercedes F1 boss.

Ideally, Mercedes would no doubt want Hamilton to go on indefinitely. Wolff recently suggested that the champion could go into forty if he wanted.

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Hamilton recently said: “You see Michael Schumacher, at 43 he was still very fit. It’s all a state of mind and how you want to spend your time, how much exercise you want to do, boring things like stretching and really taking care of your “temple” or whatever.

“Then it is when you are still hungry. I think I’ll know for sure – as I know myself very well now – when I don’t want to anymore. I will know when it just doesn’t work for me anymore.

“To be honest, I don’t think I can’t drive. I think if I want to – and I know how to apply – I think I’ll make it. I don’t think my reactions will wear off until I’m at least in my 40s. “

But the real question mark is what’s next. When is the right time for Mercedes to shape the next F1 star of the future?

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Williams driver George Russell – 13 years younger than Hamilton – is the man who is considered the future star of Mercedes. It’s not feasible to keep him on the boards for a fourth season with Williams behind the grid. What, if Hamilton continues next year as expected, there seems to be no more room for Valtteri Bottas.

Unless Russell is signed for a Mercedes drive as his Williams contract ends this year, there is a risk he will be lost to a rival team. The impetus seems to be to get Russell, regardless of Hamilton’s plans.

But that’s a tough call for Wolff. The Hamilton-Bottas partnership worked wonderfully. It is balanced in a way that the combative Hamilton-Rosberg partnership was not. Bottas is fast enough to win races here and there, but his personality has helped create a calm environment that has contributed to the team’s success.

But Hamilton won’t be there forever – and Wolff can’t risk staying high and dry without a champion-caliber driver when the day Hamilton calls it a day comes.

So what if Russell walks in but doesn’t appear as the real “wingman”? The fact is, Wolff has to choose one time or another to get involved with someone else – and that someone may need work to become the next Lewis Hamilton – unless someone is Max Verstappen, but that’s another entirely Can of worms.

Also, what if they sign Russell but he’s not good enough to replace Hamilton in the long run? Mercedes has to know that sooner rather than later.

Regardless, he has to decide where the future of Mercedes leads next and what life as a seven-time champion will be when Hamilton leaves. Wolff has to support a horse, and he has to support them soon – otherwise they could risk losing everything they have worked hard on over the past decade.

And there are many other options outside of Russell.

Wolff has also suggested that Esteban Ocon, who broke up with Mercedes to join Renault in 2019, is still a candidate for a racing seat in 2022.

And Ocon is, of course, headed by Wolff, so he is being seriously considered as a replacement. But what about Lando Norris? Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly – yes they are all under contract elsewhere, but with a package like Mercedes there is only one clear winner.

Mercedes were the last team to confirm their line-up for 2021. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was added to the grid late.

But now, even if Bottas and Hamilton have potential for the future, the Austrian has to plan his trip to find out who is coming to Mercedes next and rule out any form of driver swap in the off-season.

“I don’t see any reason to change. It’s these people over there [pointing towards Red Bull’s motorhome] that likes to play musical chairs, so no change is to be expected, “said Wolff.

But something has to change, whether Wolff likes it or not.