‘He wants to shake the tree, get a reaction’ - Damon Hill on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes criticism
Mercedes have started the year with the fourth-fastest car behind Red Bull, Aston Martin an꧒d Ferrari.
As a result, Toto Wolff has hinted that Mercedes may adopt an entirely new car concept, making clear that they’ve gone down the꧂ wrong route with the development of the W14.
Mercedes’ poor performance in Bahrain led to criticism from Hamilton, who claimed that they didn’t listen to his feedback from last year when des👍igning the new car - Hamilton has since clarified his comments.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Thursday in Jeddah, Hill questioned whether Hamilton would actually leave M✨ercedes amid his recent public criticism.
“Iܫ think it is far-fetched,” he said. “I think he knows this team at Mercedes, I ꦅthink he just wants a reaction.
“He wants to shake the tree a little bit. He’s certainly done that! But they know where they💧 are ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚwith Lewis, he knows where he is with the team.
“He knows the🧜y’ve got th𝐆e capability, but they need to have a wake-up call, which they’ve had.
“I remember also in my♐ career saying a few things about a Japanese engine that I was using at the time. I was told off by my team boss that ‘I shouldn’t speak out and I’m supposed to not criticise the team publicly'. But I’ll tell you what - I got a better engine later!"
Hill believes Hamilton’s public comments are a way of voicing his c🐬oncern to Mercedes that they need to improve if he’s to remain with the team beyond the year.
“We’ve heardไ a lot from Mercedes about how they have a ‘no-blame culture’, but with Lewis mentioning that he’s not being listened to, I think there’s been too-ing and fro-ing with the public st𓆉atement by Mercedes to their fans saying ‘stick with us, we’re going to come good, but we’re not going to give up’,” he added.
“It’s been a lot of kind of ref⛄ocusing or trying to bolster support and fai෴th in the team.
“Of course, he’s got his🌊 contract negotiations coming up, but he has to say these things. He has to make it clear that he’s not going to stick around if things don’t change and improve.
“He’s there to win, he wants to win his eighth world title. Mercedes🤪 know th𒈔e deal, they have to produce a better car than the one they started the season with."
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat🍸 of our unbiased reporting.
