Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted that there is currently no Plan B in place in case Lewis Hamilton elects to walk away from Formula 1 at the end of 2023.
Hamilton’s current contract expires at the end of this year, but the British driver and Wolff have repeatedly said they plan to reach an agreement on an extension.
However, an arduous start to the new campaign has effectively ruled Mercedes out of title contention already and prompted rumours that Hamilton might opt to retire or move teams.
But Wolff says he is not yet contemplating possibilities beyond Hamilton, who has won six of his seven F1 titles with Mercedes since joining in 2013.
“I think it may sound naive, but I really struggle to think of a Plan B, if my Plan A is still the one that is my favourite,” Wolff told Motorsport.com.
“I don’t want to engage in discussions with other drivers, because I’m happy with the ones that are in the team, that’s for sure. At the moment, there is no Plan B. It’s Lewis.”
Having worked closely with him for 10 years, Wolff is also extremely confident that Hamilton would not leave Mercedes in the lurch if he chose to depart the German marque.
“I think that he would tell us early enough. I don’t think that Lewis would say: ‘I can’t do this anymore. I’m out of here tomorrow.’
“He would always feel the responsibility for the team. He wouldn’t leave the team alone. Drivers can always take decisions [like that], but he wouldn’t let us down,” he added.
Although Wolff ruled that Mercedes aren’t currently searching into contingency plans, the Austrian has conceded that it would always be capable of finding solutions.
“But then, I think if you believe that you’re a team that is attractive for others, you will find solutions,” he contemplated.
Despite a tumultuous start to the second year of the current technical regulations, a front-row qualifying effort and a first podium of the season in Australia buoyed the Mercedes camp heading into a four-week interval ahead of the next race.
After Wolff issued that Mercedes would need to overhaul its current car philosophy at the conclusion of qualifying in Bahrain, the Brackley-based operation is set to utilise the Easter break to launch its first major upgrade package of the year at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
With Red Bull in dominant shape and on course to retain both titles it won last year, Mercedes’ main fight will be battling Aston Martin and Ferrari for second in the Constructors’.
While his wait for a 104th F1 victory continued, Hamilton’s 192nd career podium represented another new record as the first driver to achieve a top-three finish in 17 consecutive seasons.
George Russell’s retirement in the sister car, however, enabled Aston Martin to remain above Mercedes in the standings by nine points.
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