Toto Wolff Claps Back At Lewis Hamilton Performance Claims Ahead Of Ferrari Move

Lewis Hamilton's drop in form towards the end of the 2024 season raised several questions, especially considering his imminent move to Ferrari in January 2025. This led many to believe that the seven-time world champion was uninterested in pushing his W15 F1 car, given its problems that Mercedes was unable to resolve.

However, considering the data Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had at his disposal, he has opened up on whether Hamilton gave up on Mercedes in the end or if it was something else that was causing him to fall back.

While the 40-year-old Briton and Mercedes looked to end their 12-season partnership on a high note, challenges with the W15's lack of pace and grip set Hamilton back significantly, especially in qualifying, while his teammate George Russell outperformed him on most race weekends. This also led Hamilton to say that he might not be that fast anymore.

Shedding light on the matter, Wolff explained that the current generation of cars does not suit Hamilton's driving style and ruled out the theory of him losing interest because of his Ferrari move. Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, as quoted by RacingNews365, the team boss said:

“This generation of car doesn't suit Lewis.

“He brakes late and turns the car aggressively into the corners. The car and the tyres sometimes don't forgive that. 

“This is more noticeable in qualifying than in the race. There may have been other influencing factors as well. I don't think his head was in his new team yet. 

“Lewis is too professional for that.”

Hamilton faced criticism for his underwhelming performances toward the end of the season, particularly in Qatar, where he considered retiring from the race after a drive-through penalty and a mid-race puncture.

However, Shovlin confirmed that Hamilton was fully committed and gave his maximum effort in the closing stages of the season, citing the example of the Las Vegas Grand Prix where Hamilton started P10 and stormed his way through the pack to finish in second. He said:

"It was definitely not a different Lewis, you saw the same Lewis, the same drive, the same determination, but the results haven't been there, and that no doubt affecting how happy we all are.

"But if you look at Las Vegas, when we gave him the car he needs, he is dominant and the team will always look at these last three years, we desperately wanted to come back from 2021 to right that wrong and win a championship, but we didn't produce a car to do that.

"We've been trying for the last three years and we still haven't produced a car to do that."