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Lewis Hamilton might not be too happy with his boss and friend Toto Wolff once he finds out what Wolff has indirectly said about him. But let us give you some context first.
Toto Wolff recently sat down with an Austrian outlet and a statement that might have been intended to be an indirect dig at Max Verstappen has, in all likelihood, turned out to be a rather unprovocated dig at his own driver.
What did Toto Wolff say?
In his interview with the Austrian outlet oe24, Toto Wolff was asked the following:
“Max Verstappen is currently making a super-focused impression. Can he still be stopped on the way to the title?”
In what could be assumed was meant to be a subtle dig at the Red Bull driver, the Mercedes team principal replied:
“Last year Max drove a worse car with a crowbar and won the title. Now he has the fastest car, everything is easier for him, the pendulum is swinging in his favor.”
In that statement, Toto Wolff not only subtly boasted about Mercedes putting up a better challenge last season than what Ferrari has been able to do so far this season, but he also confessed that the German team had the better car last year. Now, there is nothing wrong with claiming one had the best machinery if one had bagged both the championships, however, as we all know, that was not the case.
While Mercedes was able to clinch the constructors' title yet again, it lost the drivers' title to Max Verstappen. When the Austrian team principal said that Verstappen had won the title in a worse car, it also meant that his driver and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had lost the title in a better car, which, in turn, meant that the Dutchman was the better driver of the two last season.
While there is debate over whether Wolff's statement was ever intended to involve Hamilton, his assertion does throw the Briton, who is already not having a great season, under the bus.
Are Toto Wolff's comments justified?
Keeping Wolff's intentions aside, let's answer one key question. Is there any veracity to these claims? Was Max Verstappen really the better driver last season?
If we look back at the 2021 season, there are a few things that stand out about both the drivers. For Lewis Hamilton, it's the mistakes he made in Imola, Baku, and Austria or his off-weekend in Monaco of all places, a rather lackluster race in Turkey, and the tire blunder in Hungary. All of this compounded into lost points for the Mercedes driver.
However, it's hard to pinpoint Max Verstappen suffering from off-weekends during the season. The Red Bull driver's Achilles' heel was his fortune that drowned him in Baku and didn't help him in Silverstone or Hungary either.
Even at the end of the year, drivers as well as team principals voted for Max Verstappen as the best driver of the season. Hence, if we were to debate over who was the better driver in the 2021 season, Max Verstappen would take the cake.
Is it fair to make such a statement about Lewis Hamilton?
While it is in no way incorrect to assert that Max Verstappen was the better driver, it is, however, not the most encouraging sign for his own boss to come out in the media and make such a statement.
Lewis Hamilton's controversial loss at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP was no doubt incredibly hard for the driver to overcome, however, things have not gotten a lot better for the seven-time world champion this year either.
He is driving a rather uncompetitive Mercedes this season, which has also not been a pleasant experience for Lewis as he has been beaten by his teammate in the last four races.
However, Lewis Hamilton has, on numerous occasions, been the "get out of jail" free card that the team has used to snatch an unlikely win. For instance, was Mercedes ever going to win the 2021 Bahrain GP if not for Hamilton's brilliance? Or for that matter, the 2020 Turkish GP? Or even the 2018 German GP when Lewis Hamilton put together a masterclass? Lewis Hamilton has more than earned a certain level of latitude that he probably needs at this stage of the season.
Signs of change at Mercedes?
Toto Wolff is not someone who is notorious for being a loose cannon. He's always measured and he doesn't say anything that he has not already thought about.
Could it be possible, then, that Mercedes has already started leaning towards a younger and cheaper option in George Russell? Russell currently leads Hamilton by more than 20 points in the Driver Standings after the first five races of the season. Moreover, as Russell gets used to the team, he will only get stronger.
Could Toto Wolff already know that Lewis Hamilton might be retiring at the end of next season and is starting to realize that Hamilton's shelf life at the top of the sport is ending, hence, it is time to pass the baton to young blood? Could it be that Russell has already shown the team that he can compete with the best on the grid?
Either way, it will be interesting to see if this story develops any further or is nipped in the bud by Mercedes.
