Lewis Hamilton tipped for “fairytale” final win as Mercedes “dynamic” questioned
Will Lewis Hamilton end his F1 win drought during his final year with Mercedes?
Lewis Hamilton has been tipped to bow out of Mercedes with at least one more victory before he switches to Ferrari - but the dynamic within the F1 team has been scrutinised.
Hamilton’s long term alliance with Mercedes will come to an end at the close of this season, opting to join Ferrari for 2025.
The move caught the whole sporting world off guard with F1’s most successful driver linking up with the sport’s winningest constructor.
Before Ferrari though, Hamilton has 24 more races with Mercedes as he looks to leave the team on a high.
The seven-time world champion is currently on the longest win drought of his F1 career, stretching back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hamilton will be hoping the W15 performs well enough to stand on the top step of the podium for at least one more time before he switches to Ferrari.
Sky Sports pundit - and former Aston Martin strategist - Bernie Collins thinks Hamilton will win a race in 2024 but expects the “dynamic” within Mercedes to shift as the season progresses.
“I think he will win a race,” she said. “I hope their new car is a lot stronger. I think the dynamic will change throughout the year.
“So it will start off all friends and then gradually as the year goes on, more stuff will get hidden from him, more changes will be made and more incidents will happen that he'll have felt unduly done by. So the dynamic will change race by race.”
Simon Lazenby feels that Hamilton’s relationship with Toto Wolff and George Russell has been unaltered having spent time with them recently as part of an incoming Sky Sports F1 TV feature.
He also thinks Hamilton will taste victory again in 2024.
“I think Lewis will get a win this year,” Lazenby added. “I think for Mercedes to go as long as they have without one is extremely hurtful for them and I think that James Allison is now back and focused, and you underestimate him at your peril.
“I've seen the dynamic first hand and the relationship looked absolutely fine between Toto, George and Lewis at Mercedes' track day. It probably will have hurt Toto to see Lewis change his mind, but I think with a bit of time and a bit of space, people will understand that Lewis just wants to fulfil his dream of going to Ferrari.”
Giving her view, former W Series driver Naomi Schiff added: “I think they'll be fine in coping. I think there may be a change of atmosphere, particularly at the beginning of the year, because it's quite a big, tough pill to swallow for the team.
“For Lewis, dynamics might be slightly different, but I think once they get into the groove of things, and they're able to get through that first qualifying, get through that first race, they might be able to put it behind them.
“I think what could be a challenge this year, there were some moments last season where Lewis was quite clear that he and George had different requirements of the car. I think from a development perspective, the team are going to be prioritising George because he's the driver who's going to be driving that car in the future. So that could hurt Lewis, but I do think that the team will want to, once they get over their emotions, both from Lewis' side and from the team's side, I think they'll want to give him a good send off.”
