Lewis Hamilton has been described as one of the greatest drivers of all time by Mercedes, who consider him essential to their future as they revealed an ownership restructuring. Hamilton has yet to renew his contract with Mercedes but the team principal Toto Wolff, who is to extend his role as principal and CEO at the team for at least a further three years, stated he was confident that a new contract with Hamilton will be signed even if it takes up until pre-season testing in 2021.
The team announced on Friday that the chemical company Ineos has bought a one-third share in Mercedes. Ineos, chaired by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, became a partner sponsor of Mercedes in February this year and the team will now be owned in three equal parts by Daimler, Wolff and Ineos. Daimler have reduced their 60% share and Wolff has marginally increased his 30% share. The remaining shares were made up from the 10% previously owned by Niki Lauda.
Mercedes chairman Ola Kallenius welcomed the new structure and expressed his confidence in Hamilton. “I think Lewis Hamilton is the greatest, or one of the greatest race drivers of all time,” he said. “His dedication and professionalism when it comes to how he has dedicated his life to being the greatest is remarkable and applaudable. We would like to continue this partnership and it’s up to Toto to get that done.”
Hamilton, speaking before remotely attending the end of season FIA prize giving, welcomed Wolff extending his role with the team and once more implied that he too expected to continue with Mercedes in future.
“I am really proud and grateful to see Toto signing,” he said. “He is such an important figure in this team, the success we have achieved would not have been possible without him. It’s going to take a big push for us to continue to raise the bar in this organisation because we have done such a great job over these past years but the right people are in the right place. The future looks bright for this team.”
On Thursday Mercedes issued a tweet suggesting the deal with Hamilton had been done and that an announcement was expected shortly. However Wolff intimated that was not the case when asked about the contract.
“He is on the top of his game and he will be for a while. And that’s why continuing together is a no-brainer,” he said. “We are putting no special date to it, because we don’t want to be put under pressure while it’s not signed yet. So sooner or later, it needs to be done. At the latest before we go testing.”
Under the new structure Wolff will continue as team principal and CEO, a role he has held since 2013, when both he and Hamilton joined the team. He then has the option to potentially move to a different executive role in the team should he choose to do so. Wolff has forged a very close relationship with Hamilton and the world champion had previously stated that the Austrian continuing in a role at Mercedes would be a factor in his decision to continue to race with the team.
Earlier this year Mercedes signed the new commercial rights agreement with F1 committing to continue in the sport until 2025 and the team have stressed that the deal is a further indication of the Mercedes commitment to F1. The team will continue to race under the German manufacturer’s brand name.
Red Bull have confirmed that Sergio Pérez will be joining the team to replace the British-Thai driver Alexander Albon as teammate with Max Verstappen for 2021. Pérez had been dropped by Racing Point for next season in favour of Sebastian Vettel. The Mexican has enjoyed one of the best season’s of his career including taking his debut F1 win at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Albon was promoted to Red Bull from Toro Rosso in 2019 but has struggled to come close to his teammate Verstappen, returning only two podium finishes this season and not not being in a position close to the front of the grid often enough to play a role in Red Bull strategy with Verstappen. Pérez has proven pace, is highly experienced and is likely to come up to speed at the team swiftly. Albon is to be retained by Red Bull as a test and reserve driver.