Toto Wolff clarifies Lewis Hamilton comments after questioning his ‘cognitive sharpness’

Toto Wolff has clarified the comments he makes in a new book that appear to question Lewis Hamilton’s “cognitive sharpness” and “shelf life”, saying they have been taken out of context and describing the seven-time world champion as still “very sharp”.

The Mercedes F1 team principal told the the author of a new book Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane, which followed the team throughout its troubled 2023 season, and for the first part of 2024, that he “liked” the situation that Mercedes found themselves in after Hamilton dropped the bombshell news earlier this year that he was joining Ferrari from 2025.

“It helps us because it avoids the moment where we need to tell the sport’s most iconic driver that we want to stop,” Wolff said, adding there was “a reason” they had only offered Hamilton a one-year deal for 2024, with a one-year option to extend.

“We’re in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has a shelf life,” the Austrian said. “So I need to look at the next generation. It’s the same in football. Managers like Sir Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola. They anticipated it in the performance of their top stars and brought in junior players that drove the team for the next years.”

Wolff’s comments prompted lots of stories claiming he was “happy” 39-year-old Hamilton was joining Ferrari, as the seven-time world champion was starting to lose his powers.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix – the first race in a triple-header which will bring the curtain down on the 2024 season – Wolff said he wanted to clarify what he meant.

“You know that was taken a little bit out of context,” Wolff told presenter Amol Rajan. “What I was referring to was that all of us age, whether it is in a car, on a pitch, or as a manager or entrepreneur. And that is what I am trying to do with myself, understand, ‘Am I going from great to good?’ Because good is not in Formula One anymore.”

“Now contrary to my own self-assessment, I think we see with Lewis that he’s very much there when the car is right. And we haven’t been able to give him that car to perform his best, and that is a frustration that we share equally in the team, and for himself.

“But he’s very sharp. He’s different to when he was a 20-year-old, that’s certainly clear. But his experience and his race craft is tremendous.”

Mercedes have signed 18-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli, who has been managed by Wolff since his early days in karting, to race alongside George Russell next year.

Hamilton had a difficult race in Brazil last time out, finishing 10th to Russell’s fourth, and prompting speculation that he might sit out the final three races. But Wolff said there was no question of that happening.

“We head to Las Vegas ready to tackle the final three races of the season,” he said in the team’s pre-race press release. “We are focused on ending this year as strongly as possible and providing some more highlights as we close out 2024. We are looking forward to the races ahead, to ending our incredible journey with Lewis on a high and to building momentum for 2025.”