Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has insisted that Lewis Hamilton has been “super supportive” to everyone at the Brackley-based team, amid Mercedes’ ongoing struggles.
It’s been nearly two years since Hamilton last won a race, with his most recent victory having come at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The seven-time World Champion hasn’t had the best of times since the new aerodynamic regulations were introduced last season, although things are starting to look up for the 38-year-old.
He recently claimed his first pole position since Saudi Arabia 2021, with it just being a victory which continues to elude him.
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This mostly due to how dominant Red Bull have been, but partly due to how Mercedes have taken so long to find the correct development path.
It’s been a testing time for all at Mercedes, in which Hamilton has “been great”, according to Wolff.
“He’s been great,” Wolff said in an interview with Boardroom.
“He’s been super supportive when the team needed it, and that dynamic goes in both directions.”
Wolff continued to discuss how supporting Hamilton has been and how he’s “cheered everybody up” at times of adversity, and vice versa.
“When he’s not great mentally about how the car is going, we try to support him, and when you can see when the engineers didn’t know what to do next on the track on race weekend, it’s he who cheered everybody up and brought the right attitude as a driver,” Wolff said.
Hamilton will be hoping to start the second half of the season with a good performance at the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend, a venue he looked strong at 12 months ago.
A podium would be the perfect way to kickstart the push to the final round of the season, although Mercedes are already looking to 2024.
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It’s expected that Hamilton will still be with the team next season, despite the fact he’s yet to sign a contract extension.
Most assume that a deal will be announced at some point, with Hamilton’s partnership with Wolff going “beyond the racing side”.
“Whether it was a great run or more difficult like now, it’s a partnership that goes beyond the racing side because we are in the same boat. He always says we win and we lose together,” Wolff added.