Lewis Hamilton has become an almost Michael Schumacher-like figure at Mercedes, team boss Toto Wolff declared.
They are the two most successful Formula 1 drivers of all time, and Mercedes have had both of them on their books. Schumacher was in the twilight of his incredible career when he raced for the Silver Arrows, while Hamilton has won most of his silverware racing for the team.
But what the two do have in common, according to Wolff, is the way in which they both turned into a figure so influential within the team that they transcended the role of driver. Asked if the Brit has become almost like a member of management, he told Beyond the Grid : "I would say yes.
"Obviously there's his involvement in developing the car and his presence in the factory, but I think on the race weekends, he has become such a senior figure – maybe a little bit like Michael was back in the day. Or think about Tom Brady in football teams, that you become more than just the player or just the driver, but you're emotionally part of the team, and he definitely is.
"He's not like we called them in the past [a] contractor, drivers come, get paid and they leave for the next better occasion – but he's been with the team now 10 years. He's a team member."
Hamilton is due to sit down with the team this winter to thrash out a new contract. His current deal expires at the end of 2023, but an extension is expected to be little more than a formality as both sides have made it clear publicly that they want to continue to work together.
The seven-time world champion's renewed vim for F1 comes despite one of his worst seasons on the track. His long-running streak of winning at least one race in every season of his career came to an end in 2022 as Mercedes struggled throughout the campaign with their temperamental W13 car.
But Hamilton still did valuable work – not only on the technical side, but also in keeping motivation levels high among colleagues. Wolff added: "The drivers had a car that was unpredictable, unstable. Good at times, not good at others. Not really something you can work with and develop.
"But as a personality, how he has gone through the season is really admirable. There were times when the team felt down because of the non-performance in this way. He picked the people up and motivated them, and that is truly management and personality traits that I have not seen with a professional sportsman before."
