F1 pundit claims Toto Wolff SABOTAGED Lewis Hamilton by signing George Russell in 2022

Mercedes has started to fall down the pecking order in the championship after signing George Russell.

F1 pundit claims Toto Wolff SABOTAGED Lewis Hamilton by signing George Russell in 2022

Toto Wolff, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

The Mercedes crew has suffered from a disappointing start to the 2024 season. Lewis Hamilton‘s aim of finishing his ultimate season on a high with Brackley is seemingly far from reality. Additionally, George Russell continues to outperform his seven-time world champion teammate. Hence, upon this, Peter Windsor reckoned that Toto Wolff‘s decision to undertake Russell in 2022 ruined Hamilton’s career.

George Russell was signed by Mercedes in 2022, freshly after Lewis Hamilton‘s controversial title loss at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Additionally, the ground-effect era challengers proved to be a turning point in Mercedes’ F1 career.

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Russell’s entry in 2022 saw him outshine his teammate in his very first year with Brackley. This in turn negatively impacted the 39-year-old’s chances of scoring further world championships in F1.

Peter Windsor didn’t hesitate to point out Mercedes’ incorrect decision. The pundit reckoned that Toto Wolff ‘sabotaged’ Hamilton’s career after acquiring George Russell in 2022. Valtteri Bottas was one of the better teammates who allowed the 39-year-old to score race wins while helping him maintain great results. However, one wrong call of acquiring the 26-year-old led to the failure of Brackley in the ground-effect era.

I think he [Toto Wolff] sabotaged Lewis’s efforts when he signed George Russell instead of Valtteri Bottas.
Peter Windsor said in an interview, via @CameronF1/Youtube.

Mercedes could’ve gone ‘lot further’ after losing 2021 Abu Dhabi GP

Mercedes’ loss in the 2021 Abu Dhabi was the closest they have ever come to winning the championship in the last three years. The ground-effect era saw the team win only one race in the past two seasons. Additionally, the out-of-form Mercedes likely couldn’t win a race during the 2024 season either. Hence, the disappointing results continue for the German manufacturing team.

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton(via IMAGO)

Peter Windsor believed that the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP should’ve been the turning point for the team. The team was capable of scoring a greater comeback after losing the championship. However, signing Russell turned out to be a nightmare for the team, especially with Hamilton. Windsor asserted that Mercedes could’ve gone a lot further after the 2021 season.

And in my opinion, I think Mercedes could have gone a lot further after Abu Dhabi ‘21 to try to get that sorted.
Peter Windsor noted.

Regardless, Brackley refuses to give up in terms of improving performance down the season. Mercedes has continued to implement in-season upgrades to the chassis in hopes of scoring better results. However, the German carmaker has already lost quite a decent chunk of points in the world championship contention for the 2024 season.

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