Lewis Hamilton believes helping Mercedes to recover from its slump would enhance his Formula 1 legacy more than a move to Red Bull and continuing to win with the best car.
Since moving to Mercedes in 2013 Hamilton has eclipsed the record for wins and pole positions while adding six titles to his sole championship success with McLaren to equal Michael Schumacher on seven apiece.
However, the Briton hasn’t stood on the top step of the podium since December 2021 amid Mercedes’ struggles following the regulation overhaul that arrived last year.
Red Bull has taken on the mantle of F1’s dominant outfit and Team Principal Christian Horner revealed Hamilton’s father, Anthony, had contacted him about a potential seat.
But Hamilton, who renewed with Mercedes through 2025, declares that reversing the Brackley squad’s fortunes appeals more than chasing a drive with the preeminent side.
Asked if he would consider leaving Mercedes if it couldn’t get on top of its woes, Hamilton said: “Well, I mean, I think hopefully signing has just showed my commitment to the team.
“I think let’s be realistic every single driver that’s racing here, dreams of being in the winning car. I think probably in my younger days when I hadn’t, maybe had a lot of success, maybe in those McLaren days it would have been a lot more attractive.
“When I think about just from a racing perspective and just kind of my viewpoint on things I obviously showing when I moved to this team, I enjoyed moving from a more successful team to a team that hadn’t had success with the vision of growing and building with the team because when we did, it was just such a better feeling.”
Red Bull’s unprecedented supremacy saw it triumph in every race bar one across 2023, while Mercedes ended an F1 campaign winless for the first time since 2011.
Although he admits he would love the chance to sample the title-winning RB19, the seven-time champion insists that he would gain more satisfaction from beating Red Bull with Mercedes than making the switch and adding to his win count in the fastest car.
“Whilst every driver here looks at the Red Bull car and would love to drive that car and I’m not saying that I wouldn’t love to drive that car and experience how good that car is, every driver would feel that,” he conceded.
“I feel like we’ve had two really difficult years and if we work towards being that car, that’s gonna be a way better feeling than stepping into just the best car.
“It wouldn’t do much for me in the sense of just stepping into the car that’s been the most dominant car of all time. Working with my team to build, to be able to beat them, I think would be better for my legacy for sure.”
