Lewis Hamilton says ending on a high with Mercedes is what he wanted amid queries on Ferrari’s dip in performance, as Toto Wolff adds on regret.
With Mercedes gaining momentum and Ferrari losing it, the inevitable question of ‘regret’ has come about from the media for Hamilton. If the decision is correct to switch seeing the situation now will be a common query going forward in the season.
But if Ferrari picks itself up again and surges ahead, all will be forgotten. Hamilton, though, is not looking from that point of view. After picking up his first win in 945 days and finally getting one with Mercedes in his final year, he is more focused on that front.
He wants to end the association on a high and he is glad to have the one win at least, even if he doesn’t get one more in the season ahead. “I think when we started the season and we had a car where we weren’t going anywhere near Red Bull, for example, anywhere near looking like we would ever get a win through the year, that for me felt like it would be kind of bittersweet at the end of the season, where you’ve not had something like Silverstone,” he said.
“And the fact that we’ve really all come together, everyone’s done such a great job to get the car into a place where we’re feeling much more comfortable and really changes from the foundation from last year. So not leaving on a low, but leaving on a high, which has been our goal.
“There’s still a long, long way to go, but the car, by no means, is the car the quickest car on the grid right now. I think we are super close, and I think hopefully with a couple of, with the next upgrade perhaps, we will be in an even stronger position to really, really be fighting at the front row more consistently,” summed up Hamilton.
On the flipside, Mercedes team boss Wolff has no regrets either of Hamilton leaving at a time when the team is getting back on top. His goal too was to see the Brit again on the top step with the German outfit before he goes away and he is glad to see it happen.
It has been difficult few years and Wolff notes that they have helped each other in this period on the mental side. “In my life, I have no regrets. Because you cannot have regrets, we are adults, we take decisions, we go for it,” he said to media. “That’s the most important. So we got to finish the season on a high, provide him with the car that enables him to win, the team to score valuable points in the constructor championship.
“And it is what it is. It’s clear our relationship goes back a long time and we have… each of us suffered at various stages and he’s been there. He’s been there for me. And most recently, I’ve tried to do my contribution to his doubting, at times. And that’s why it feels really good that he’s been able to put all the negative thoughts, all the negativity aside and come up with this performance – and it’s a weight off his shoulders.”
Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Frederic Vasseur was unfazed by the win of Hamilton in Silverstone. “First, I would have been happier to give the confidence to Carlos in Silverstone (laughs),” he said. “Lewis, we’ll have time to discuss about this. I’m happy for him because I think he deserves it, but we’ll have time to discuss about Lewis next year, it’s not the topic now. I have nothing to say on Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.”
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