Lewis Hamilton‘s unexpected switch to Maranello was publicly declared on the 1st of February, and since then, the British racing driver has been concentrating his efforts on what is to be his 12th and culminating F1 season with Mercedes. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made a statement following the Australian Grand Prix that Hamilton’s happenings at Ferrari this year were “not his main priority today”, a comment which he directed towards his driver.
With time, however, the reality will inevitably dawn on Hamilton and Mercedes that measures will need to be put in place to keep their forthcoming F1 vehicle out of the sight of their imminent leaver. This is not an entirely unfamiliar situation for the seven-time world champion, but the disclosure of his transition from McLaren to Mercedes in the 2012 season was not made until considerably later, on the 28th of September, to be precise.
It’s for this reason that Hamilton has started considering the point where he “will have to” engage in dialogue with Ferrari and the manner in which this interaction will be carried out. “I think it will start with a conversation with Toto, because I don’t know how to navigate”, the Brit stated. “I’ve never been in this position before at this point of the year. When I was leaving McLaren, it was towards the end of the season… I’m not quite sure how I’m going to navigate it.”
Despite his future distractions with Ferrari, Hamilton reaffirmed his commitment to make the most of his current sprint with the Silver Arrows, as he strives to break his exceptional streak of 49 races without taking the top spot.
Hamilton shared, “Right now, I want to finish on a high here… all my energy is going into this. Of course, there’s excitement for the future. But right now, we’re going through a difficult place. That’s my challenge. That’s where all my energy is going, to try and figure out how we can get ourselves back to the top.”
He further emphasized his relentless nature saying, “I’m a competitor first and foremost, so I want to win. Just thinking about the next year isn’t going to help me do that.”