Lewis Hamilton’s results this season are not what everyone expected. But the seven-time world champion remains “in a good mood, very motivated and energetic”. Word from Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
Posted yesterday at 7:19 p.m.
The first free practice session had just ended on Friday when Toto Wolff took about 15 minutes to sit down with some representatives of the Canadian media, including The Press. The 50-year-old answered every question, in English and French, even though the track session didn’t go to his liking.
The car had been, by his own admission, “a shit box [shit box], a huge shit box”. “The pilots are complaining. That’s why I don’t laugh a lot, ”he added softly.
This sentence only came at the end of the interview. He hid his displeasure very well.
Unsurprisingly, the physical condition and performance of Lewis Hamilton was at the heart of the discussion. The Briton is struggling to adapt to his new car and has suffered from the famous porpoising problems since the start of the season. It currently points to 6e rank in the drivers’ standings with 62 points, 21 less than the one ahead of him, Carlos Sainz Jr.
“We all try to be as positive as possible. At the same time, we have to be realistic. Now I see no decline in mentality [chez Lewis] “said Wolff.
The other Mercedes driver, George Russell, has adapted a little better to his new single-seater. He edged out Hamilton in every race except the first. But according to the team manager, the two drivers have the same level of performance. And the spirit is not in the competition within the stable.
Photo Olivier Jean, THE PRESS
george russell
” [Lewis et George] are very good with each other. Communication is direct between them. They wonder: did you feel the same in turn 3? We all pull in the same direction to come back, to have a car that goes fast. Right now, they’re not fighting each other. It’s useless.
“On the circuit, in terms of time, we are the third team. We have to come back in front, and then we can appreciate more a battle between the two in terms of who is in front. We don’t think that way right now. »
” It scares me ”
Last Sunday in Baku, Lewis Hamilton had difficulty extricating himself from his vehicle due to severe back pain. Friday morning, during the pilots’ conference, he affirmed that “it takes[ait] much more time” to recover from a race this year.
Photo Olivier Jean, THE PRESS
Lewis Hamilton
Asked about the current state of his star driver a few hours before qualifying, Toto Wolff said he was doing better.
“He got all the treatment he could have with his little angel, Angela [Cullen, sa physiothérapeute]. But there is the problem of the spine and the muscles. There is also the problem of the brain because it has microconcussions. So far, it’s something we can manage, but we don’t know the long-term consequences. »
“Me, it scares me, he continued. I am responsible for the drivers, and if there are medical consequences due to the regulations, something has to be done. I’m not trying to find performance, far from it. It’s more about really understanding what makes all the drivers complain, even the Red Bull drivers. In any case, [Sergio] Perez. »
Recall that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) confirmed Thursday that it would intervene to reduce porpoising.
“We all have to work together, with the FIA, to find solutions,” added Wolff.
two enthusiasts
Since his first victory in Montreal in 2007, Lewis Hamilton has become a motorsport legend. Nothing less. He has a staggering total of 183 podiums and 103 victories in 296 Grands Prix. He has nothing more to prove. A bit like Toto Wolff, who, arriving in 2013, made Mercedes the dominant team it has been for several years.
What drives them to continue? we asked the big boss.
“It’s easy to answer: we love sport! he launched without the slightest hesitation. We love the chrono which never lies. You are good or you are bad. There are no lies, no excuses.
“In business, politics, you can always find excuses and an argument to explain why it didn’t work and why it was someone else’s fault. Here it is pure. That’s what we love. »