Wolff wants ‘right moment’ to start Hamilton talks
Lewis Hamilton's success isn't random, just like my father's wasn't says Mick Schumacher.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he will be carrying on with the team post-2020, but he has not started talks yet with Lewis Hamilton.
In what has simply been an era of Mercedes dominance the likes of which Formula 1 has not seen before, at the Turkish Grand Prix Hamilton secured his seventh World Championship, making it seven Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles in a row for the Silver Arrows.
As Hamilton celebrated putting himself level with Michael Schumacher atop the Formula 1 mountain, Wolff made a rare visit to the podium at Istanbul Park to join him.
“So special, I haven’t been there in a while so I was a bit confused about where to go,” Wolff told Channel 4.
“But it was a very proud moment for me to represent the team here, and being there with him on his seventh World Championship doesn’t get much better.”
Wolff added that the late great Niki Lauda, who was also a pivotal part in Mercedes’ success until his passing in 2019, would have been very proud of Hamilton’s and the team’s achievement.
“I think Niki would have been very proud for the team,” he said.
“I think he would have even worn the winners’ T-shirt, but also change to go to the airplane and fly off, we have no time to lose.
“But he had a great contribution and was my best friend in his final years.
“The symbiosis between Lewis and the team and all of us is really on a high level.”
LEWIS #HAMIL7ON. ✊ CHAMPION OF THE WORLD FOR THE SEVENTH TIME!! 💜 pic.twitter.com/0ApmspAXEv
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 15, 2020
Get your hands on the official Mercedes 2020 collection via the Formula 1 store
But for all of Mercedes’ success, Wolff and Hamilton, two of the key cogs in the machine, are not tied down for 2021.
Wolff, who owns part of the Mercedes F1 team, says for that reason he won’t be leaving, but talks over a new deal for Hamilton are yet to take place.
But now that both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships are wrapped up, Wolff is searching for the “right moment” to start talks over a new contract for Hamilton.
“We’re living in a very fast-paced environment and you can see that you are the centre point of attention and a year later if you decide to call it a day you’re not,” he explained.
“So it’s all about finding your own happiness and making the right decisions.
“I’m going to carry on because I’m the owner of the team, I will find somebody who one day is going to take over my baton, and as for Lewis we just need to sit down now.
“We decided that we wanted to terminate the Championship on a high, this is the moment today, and now we’ll find the right moment.”
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