F1: No news from Lewis Hamilton on future before Canadian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes attends the Drivers Press Conference during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 15, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images/AFP
Lewis Hamilton arrived at one of his favorite circuits on Thursday to praise Mercedes’ progressive work but had no news on his future with the team before this Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion and seven-time winner of the Canadian Grand Prix, a record he shares with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, said he was “buzzing” after his and his team-mate George Russell’s double podium finish in Spain.
Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes ends this year.
But, asked about a keenly-anticipated meeting with team chief Toto Wolff, to finalize his next deal with Mercedes, he said: “We never hooked up.”
Pressed on the subject, he laughed off a suggestion that he had been to share a pizza with Wolff and explained there was no fresh developments to reveal.
“No, we never had a pizza!” he said.
“I’ve seen Toto and we talked several times. We have a great relationship so there is nothing else to say at the moment.”
Formula One F1 – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – March 19, 2023 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action during the race REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
He added he wanted to see if the upgraded Mercedes car that carried him to second place in Spain would remain as competitive this weekend.
“We’ve gone through a tough patch and we’re kind of like on that up now,” he said.
“It feels like we had wins at some races – but it’s just about perspective because of course we haven’t been in first place.
“The steps we’ve taken at the last race as a team to be on the podium with both drivers, that was a win for us.
“We’re just focused, we know where we need to go. We don’t know everything about how to get there, but we know that together, we can get there if we just keep our heads down.
“The science, the engineering at our team is fantastic, we’ve got a great development team. I honestly think we’ve got the best development team.
“It’s as good as, if not better than, any other team in the sport and so we just need to keep chipping away.
“It’s all been buzzing, back at the factory. The whole team has this new energy and we kind of feel like we’ve got our North Star again!
“But I don’t know if this track suits our car, but the weather may change that and then we’ll have to see.”
He has a career total of a record 103 victories, but he has not won since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
