Mercedes Chief: Lewis Hamilton Has Four Years Left

Toto Wolff believes they have plenty of time to get their heads together and win Hamilton his 8th World Championship

Despite a disappointing performance in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff remains confident that the team can provide Lewis Hamilton with a championship-winning car. In an interview with Sky Sports, Wolff expressed his optimism about Mercedes' chances of securing an eighth world title for Hamilton.

Hamilton, whose contract with Mercedes runs until the end of the 2023 F1 season, finished seventh in qualifying, just over six-tenths off pole-sitter Max Verstappen. His teammate George Russell qualified in sixth place. During the race on Sunday, Hamilton managed to plough forward through the grid, taking home a 5th place finish for the Brackley squad. His teammate finished P7. 

Speaking after qualifying, Wolff emphasized that Mercedes is determined to win and is constantly evaluating their performance to identify areas for improvement. 

"We're super critical of ourselves and what we need to achieve," he said. "There's no such thing as a holy car. We're looking at everything - did we get it right with the concept? Should we have reacted earlier? All of that."

Wolff also reiterated his commitment to supporting Hamilton and helping him win his eighth world championship. 

"Even if I need to push him around the track to win the eighth, I am going to do everything that's needed," he said.

Despite the gap to Red Bull, which Wolff estimates to be around four-tenths, he believes that Mercedes can still win races and championships. 

"We're continuing to develop the concept and thinking we could land and fight for pole position but that wasn't the case today," he said. "If we want to win, we need to find the gap or more."

Wolff is optimistic about the future and believes that Hamilton has at least another four years in him as a top-level driver. "We just need to get our heads together. We're going to get his eighth. He has compared to Alonso another four years in him as a minimum. We need to get it done."