Lewis Hamilton feels that assisting Mercedes in getting out of its current slump would leave a greater legacy in Formula 1 than moving to Red Bull and winning with the greatest car.
After switching to Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton has equaled Michael Schumacher’s record for the most wins and pole positions while tying the latter with six championships from his one and only championship win with McLaren.
The Briton hasn’t topped the podium, though, since December 2021 due to Mercedes’ difficulties in the wake of the rule change that was implemented last year.
Red Bull has assumed the role of being Formula One’s top team, and Team Principal Christian Horner disclosed that Anthony Hamilton, Hamilton’s father, had gotten in touch with him regarding a possible seat.
However, Hamilton, who extended his contract with Mercedes until 2025, says it would be more appealing to turn around the Brackley squad’s performance than to pursue a drive with the dominant team.
When asked whether he would think about quitting Mercedes if the team was unable to overcome its problems, Hamilton responded, “Well, I mean, hopefully signing has just showed my commitment to the team.”
“I believe that we should be realistic and acknowledge that every driver competing here hopes to drive the winning vehicle. I believe it would have been much more appealing back when I was younger and maybe had more success—that is, back when McLaren was around.
“Moving from a more successful team to one that hadn’t had success with the vision of growing and building with the team was enjoyable for me, just from a racing perspective and just kind of my viewpoint on things I obviously showed when I moved to this team, because when we did, it was just such a better feeling.”
Mercedes finished an F1 season without a win for the first time since 2011, while Red Bull’s unparalleled dominance saw it win all but one of the races in 2023.
The seven-time champion is adamant that he would be more satisfied defeating Red Bull with Mercedes than switching to the fastest car and increasing his win total, even though he acknowledges he would love to get his hands on the championship-winning RB19.
Although he acknowledged that “every driver here would love to drive that Red Bull car and I’m not saying that I wouldn’t love to drive that car and experience how good that car is,” he said.
“It seems like we’ve had two really challenging years. It will feel much better to strive to be that car than to simply enter the best car.
In the sense of simply getting into the most dominant car ever, it wouldn’t really do anything for me. It would undoubtedly be better for my legacy if I worked with my team to develop and be able to defeat them.
