“He has become such a senior figure,” Toto Wolff draws parallel between Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher while explaining the former’s contributions to Mercedes


“He has become such a senior figure,” Toto Wolff draws parallel between Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher while explaining the former’s contributions to Mercedes

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton

Each and every Mercedes fan will always remember the time when the Stuttgart-based outfit signed Lewis Hamilton to become their new driver in place of the legendary Michael Schumacher, who retired from F1 in 2012. Many were sceptical about the choice–they were not sure how Lewis Hamilton, a newbie with only one World Championship title to his name, would fit in the shoes of the great Schumy, who has engraved his name in motorsports history with an unprecedented 7 WDC title victories.

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Fast forward to the present day, Lewis Hamilton has equaled Schumacher’s feat of achieving 7 World Championship titles, and he is about to start his 11th season with Mercedes in 2023. The Briton found unparalleled success with the German team, and his longtime association with them has been acknowledged by Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff time and again. In a recent interview for the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, the Austrian talked about the crucial part that Lewis plays in managing Mercedes now and he also explained how the 37-year-old has become much more than just a driver for them.

While speaking of Lewis Hamilton’s achievements on behalf of Mercedes, Toto Wolff compared him with Michael Schumacher. But this is not the first time that the two sporting greats have had their abilities put in the weighing scale for comparison. F1 fans all around the world have always wondered how Lewis would measure up to Michael Schumacher, and according to Toto Wolff, the two have played the same role at Mercedes.

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Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton is not a driver that comes, gets paid, and leaves for the next occasion

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton F1
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton

For a successful Formula 1 campaign, there has to be a camaraderie of sorts between the teammates and the team racers and their Team Principal. And in this department, Mercedes have hit the jackpot. Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton’s association has stayed strong through all these years and now that Lewis has finished ten years with the team, Wolff feels that he has become a lot more than a mere driver for them. He said, “On the race weekends, he has become such a senior figure, maybe a little bit like Michael was back in the day. Or think about Tom Brady, in football teams, that you become more than just the player or just the driver, but you are emotionally part of the team.

Toto Wolff continued, “He is definitely not like – we called them in the past – a contractor, drivers [who] come, get paid and they leave for the next occasion. He’s been with the team now 10 years. He’s a team member.

While Lewis Hamilton has succeeded in getting 6 World Championship wins in the ten years that he has spent at Mercedes, his 2022 campaign with the team proved to be an abysmal one. The Briton had his first winless season ever since he had joined Formula 1 all those years back. But in the upcoming season, they have a new challenge ahead of them–and that is, to come back to their winning ways. And it is to be seen how Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes work towards their goal.

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