Lewis Hamilton doing 'something he shouldn't' at Mercedes ahead of exit
Lewis Hamilton has made a Mercedes admission ahead of his move to Ferrari next year.
Lewis Hamilton has questioned himself after revealing he’s still helping Mercedes develop their 2025 car, despite the fact he will be driving for Ferrari by the time next season gets underway. The 39-year-old has won six of his seven F1 world championships with the Silver Arrows but is set to head through the exit door after 12 years with the outfit.
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Mercedes dominated F1 for most of Hamilton’s time in Brackley as they won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championship titles between 2014 and 2021. But since the F1 regulations were changed ahead of the 2022 season, the Silver Arrows have been well off the pace, with Red Bull on their own ahead of the chasing pack.
Hamilton is desperately searching for a record eighth world title and will be hoping to achieve the feat with Ferrari, who appear to be Red Bull’s main competitors this year alongside McLaren. But his Scuderia ambitions aren’t coming at the expense of his current employers.
Ahead of Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton was quizzed about whether he was fully involved in the development of Mercedes’ 2025 vehicle. And the veteran explained: “Yeah, I am still. Nothing's changed.
“We're still having our big meetings back at the factory. I'm still fully enjoying working with everyone and having the discussions, and the team has been really, really great. I am massively respectful, and I'm here trying to help this team progress this year and also into next year.
“The things that I am working on, I'm like, ‘These are the things you've got to probably have for next year.’ Maybe I shouldn't be doing that, but I want the team to excel and succeed regardless of whether I am here or not.”
Hamilton has lagged behind his team-mate Geroge Russell during the early part of the season and was 10 points adrift of the 26-year-old ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
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Both drivers have struggled to perform on the track this year, however, and have been unable to clinch a podium finish between them.
Hamilton could only muster an eighth-place starting position for the Imola race, with Russell starting in P6 and Yuki Tsunoda sandwiched between them.
And discussing his tactics before the day's action got underway, Hamilton added: “I'll try and get past Tsunoda if I can. That would be helpful, and then after that it's really just about managing the tyres. The cars ahead of George are faster, so that's kind of where we are.”
