Lewis Hamilton’ s Mercedes contract negotiations are set to be put on the back-burner.
The seven-time world champion's contract expires at the end of the 2023 F1 campaign, and speculation that he could stall on a new deal if Mercedes fail to reverse their slump has been rampant.
Mercedes and Hamilton had talked up a new contract at their car unveiling a couple of weeks ago but things have now changed. Negotiations are now due to be put on hold after the Silver Arrows’ worrying start to the new season, as they found themselves woefully off the pace during the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The 38-year-old came home in fifth, 51 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen - while team-mate George Russell crossed the line in seventh. When asked about the possibility of putting a new plan in place regarding Mercedes’ 2024 driver lin-eup, team principal Toto Wolff refused to look too far ahead.
"There is no point talking about the driver situation for 2024,” the Austrian said. "That is far too early. We have to all push in the same direction, the drivers, engineers and management, rather than throwing in the towel. We have never done that and we will not do that now."
While speaking to Sky Sports, Wolff promised "radical" changes and after just one race into the year, doesn't seem too optimistic about Mercedes' chances. The Austrian said that Mercedes will effectively scrap this season's W14 and focus on a new car design in a bid to return to winning ways.
Not only are the Brackley-based team lagging behind Ferrari and front runners Red Bull, but Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin showed superior pace as the Spaniard passed both Mercedes drivers on Sunday afternoon. As F1 turns its attention towards the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia next weekend, Wolff is set to hold crunch talks with his staff this week to discuss how they make improvements.
Speaking immediately after the chequered flag, Hamilton said: "I know we are not where we want to be, but let's keep pushing. We have got some serious work to do to close the gap but I believe in you all so let's keep going."
Wolff added: "You heard Lewis on the radio. He is an integral part of the team, picking the team up, and we're all sticking together. I don't think that's going to change just because we had another start that was really bad.
"We won eight constructor championships, and we won six driver championships with him, and that relationship holds. It would be much too easy to lose a driver, and then just throw in the white towel. We're not doing that.
"On the contrary, we just need to really dig deeper than we've ever done before, and provide both drivers with a car that they're actually able to fight with."
