F1 Rumors: Mercedes Prepared If Lewis Hamilton Walks Away

Toto Wolff, the team principal of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, has said that the team is ready to find a replacement if reigning champion Lewis Hamilton decides to walk away from the sport.

The British racing driver, who won his seventh F1 Drivers’ Championship in 2020, is yet to ink a new pact ahead of the 2021 season.

Hamilton has previously admitted that he wants to continue with the Mercedes team for the foreseeable future, but no agreement has yet been reached.

Recent reports revealed that the F1 legend and the German carmaker are at odds in terms of the financial package and length of contract on offer.

Hamilton is said to want to remain the highest-paid driver in the sport’s history while also wanting a long-term deal.

The Daimler board of directors is said to be unwilling to meet his demands, which is delaying the process. Mercedes has dismissed that speculation, and Wolff made it clear that the team is not overly concerned by the delay.

The Silver Arrows chief made it clear that the team is ready for every eventuality even if it means looking for a replacement for F1’s top star.

"It doesn’t worry me at all, because I will always respect Lewis’ decisions,” Wolff said, as quoted on Formula 1 News. “Whether this is staying with us for a long time, or whether that means leaving the sport and pursuing different interests. I think we need to be ready for all kinds of curveballs being thrown at us.”

Wolff did not stop at just alleviating fears about Hamilton’s contract dilemma as he went on to praise the Briton.

“The best means the quickest driver and the most intelligent driver,” he stated. “One that understands how the dynamics in the team works, including its technical ability. And on the other side seeing himself in the right context within the organization and not like a solar system where everything revolves around the sun.”