Hamilton still strong

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton isn’t going anywhere and will continue to drive for Mercedes as revealed by team principal Toto Wolff.

Rumours had been circulating that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc might be tempted to move to Mercedes after he took his first podium of the 2023 season in Azerbaijan – especially if Hamilton were to move on or retire when his contract expires at the end of the year.

However, Wolff confirmed that was not the case.

“I think Leclerc is 100 per cent committed and loyal to Ferrari and it’s his contract, and in the same way we are 100 per cent committed to putting pen to paper with Lewis,” he explained.

“I think nobody doubts Charles’s ability and he’s a good guy. The only time I talked to him was to ask where the gate is in Melbourne to board the plane. No contact otherwise.”

As for Hamilton, who apparently endured his first winless season in F1 last year and has a best result of P2 in 2023 (Australia), Wolff said the squad was still pushing to give their star driver a championship-winning car as well as keep him at the team beyond this season.

“I think he feels very much that he’s strong and we feel the same, that we are not going to race for a drivers’ championship this year,” Wolff added. “That is what it looks like at the moment, and we just need to give him a car that can do that and hopefully we can get our package to a winning package this season and have something that can bring him his eighth title, and no doubt he is motivated to achieve this.

The next F1 race will be held at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari track in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy on May 21.