The Mercedes Formula 1 team asserts that it holds no doubts over Lewis Hamilton’s “integrity” when it comes to potentially sharing its data with his future employer Ferrari.
It was announced last Thursday that Hamilton had activated a break clause in his Mercedes contract to pursue a fresh challenge with Ferrari starting in 2025.
Typically, a departing driver will be gradually phased out of meetings regarding car development to ensure that any vital information is not passed through to a rival.
With an overhaul to the chassis and engine regulations coming in 2026, Mercedes will be mindful to withhold details about its future plans for the next generation from Hamilton.
However, Mercedes will encounter the challenge of utilising the Briton’s experience to develop this season’s W15 car while also managing the crossover into next year.
But Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff is not perturbed about having to deal with that situation when it comes because he is convinced that Hamilton can be trusted.
And he has confirmed that both Hamilton and team-mate George Russell will receive equal treatment in the upcoming season, despite the former’s impending switch.
“I think what I have always tried to do as a Team Principal and all of us at Mercedes is to be transparent and fair and nothing will change in that respect in 2024,” Wolff told selected media, including Motorsport Week.
“We owe it to our principles and our racing intent – how we go about – and we will respect that. And I’m sure the drivers will respect that.”
“In terms of the development going forward, I think it’s something we have to look at.
“The regulations stay pretty much the same and when it comes to 2025, we will evaluate later in the season what it means in terms of technical information, but it is not something that bothers me at all.
“We have engineers who leave to go to other teams, and the notice periods are sometimes as short as six months, so I don’t have any doubt in terms of Lewis’ integrity in terms of sharing information.
“We want to make sure this is a successful season for both drivers and a successful season for Mercedes. All of us will give our utmost to achieve that.”
Wolff believes that Hamilton’s shock move will not prove detrimental to Mercedes’ car development and he is relishing the challenge of controlling the transition period.
When asked if Mercedes considered cutting ties with Hamilton with immediate effect, Wolff answered: “Definitely a new situation to manage for Lewis, for the team.
“But it is something that when you focus on the really short term, and this is the racing team that is being deployed to run the product, it doesn’t have a big impact on everything that has happened going forward on the development side.
“I’m always interested in new and challenging situations, and balancing 2024 Mercedes interests versus 2025 driver interests is something we will openly discuss at the beginning about how to manage and for sure come to a good outcome about how to manage.”
As the search for Hamilton’s successor beyond 2024 begins, Wolff has also warned that the driver’s role concerning the evolution of an F1 car should not be overestimated.
“The car is being developed in the team with a lot of science and a lot of data, and the driver gives us guidance of what he feels in the car and this is being dissected,” he explained. “This is then decided on whether it happens or not.
“We mustn’t underplay nor overplay the input of the driver and the development of a car.
