Lewis Hamilton backed to race 10 more years; Wolff rubbishes Red Bull link
Lewis Hamilton is currently enduring his longest winless streak after going 14 races without a victory
Mercedes AMG F1 team principal Toto Wolff has backed Lewis Hamilton to continue racing for at least another 10 years. The Austrian was responding to rumours linking Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez to the seven-time Formula 1 world champion's seat beyond 2023.
Hamilton has a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2023. Beyond that, he has been tipped to walk away from the sport to pursue other interests. The Silver Arrows are enduring their most difficult season since 2014, and are yet to win a race in 2022 after falling behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the pecking order.
The Brackley-based team's struggles have seen a number of questions raised about Hamilton's future with the team. A recent report suggested that Wolff had contacted former Force India driver Perez to replace the British ace, but the 50-year-old has dismissed it.
"It's complete b******. I've never called Sergio, he's a good guy and I respect him, but I've never talked to him and haven't been in contact with any other driver," Wolff told Motorsport Italy.
"Lewis and I, even in the face of a less encouraging scenario like the start of this season, we are always aligned in wanting to try to improve things and in wanting to be together next year. And for a couple of months we have been telling each other that we could go on, maybe five or 10 years, right? So none of this is true."
Apart from continuing with each other beyond 2023, Wolff is also certain Hamilton can add to his tally of seven F1 world titles. Mercedes have shown progress this season, and are slowly but surely making up ground on frontrunners Red Bull and Ferrari.
As it stands, the reigning constructors' champions expect to fight for race wins in the second half of the season, while also being confident about developing a competitive car for 2023. If that is the case, Hamilton will be able to again challenge for the Drivers' Championship before he decides to call time on his career.
"Of course, he would have been the only [driver] to hold this record, but I think he can be equally proud of having seven titles like Michael [Schumacher], I think this milestone is also very historic and important," Wolff added.
"But the goal is to get back to having the right performance soon, and if we return to providing Lewis with a good car, why just think of eight world titles? Why not ten?"
