28 April 2023 , 13:12
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Damon Hill believes Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will be doing whatever he can to tie Lewis Hamilton down to another contract.
Hamilton's future at the team and in Formula 1 has been questioned with his contract set to expire at the end of this season. There have also been claims that, if he wishes to chase his eighth world title, he may have to venture to a new team such as Ferrari.
Hill, the 1996 world champion, has shared his suspicions about Hamilton's future and thinks Wolff will be "banging heads together" in an attempt to keep the Brit at the team.
But he also does not think there will be too much pressure on Hamilton to stay if he decides he doesn't want to. Hill said: "It was abundantly clear that [2022] Mercedes was not the car of the previous era. The car looks different to other cars, notably the Red Bull or the Ferrari.
"2023 comes around, still no race-winning car. It didn't need Lewis to point it out. But Lewis was vocal. He was echoing what everyone was feeling and saying.
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"Toto Wolff will bang heads together and saying, 'We need to make changes'. I think Lewis can probably wait a little bit longer until he feels confident. I can't imagine that Mercedes are pressuring him. They know that they've got things to work out."
Toto Wolff may want to resolve Hamilton's future quickly (Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)Mercedes sit third in the constructors' championship, trailing leaders Red Bull by 67 points. But still, the talk has been about their long-term future, with Charles Leclerc heavily linked with a move to the Silver Arrows if Hamilton leaves.
Hill believes Leclerc would be the perfect candidate to take the Mercedes seat if Hamilton was to move elsewhere. He added: "He would be a strong bet. He is a talent that a lot of people feel is wasted at Ferrari. Ferrari have not given him what he needs to develop, and to deliver results.
"I can imagine the frustration is getting to Charles. If Mercedes said to him: 'Lewis is deciding to move on, would you be interested?’ I'm sure he'd jump at that chance." But the Monegasque insisted in Baku this week that he is "fully focused" on his role at Ferrari.