Mercedes hasn’t been at its best for the past couple of years. So it would make sense that the biggest headline to come out of Brackley this season has been Lewis Hamilton signing a two-year extension with Mercedes. Considering the seven-time champion won six of his titles with Mercedes and has spent a decade with the team, this shouldn’t have been that big a surprise. But it was, even though almost everyone knew Mercedes would ultimately be his choice. But a choice? Did he have one other than Mercedes?

Hamilton and Mercedes announced the Brit’s $127 million contract at the Italian GP. Before that—as surprising as it may seem—Hamilton was rumored to have received a $49 million-a-year offer from Ferrari. With the state of affairs at Mercedes, was he really considering switching allegiances?

Lewis Hamilton had a rendezvous with the enemy

The Italian GP was the 14th race weekend of the season. So, for the better part of the season, Hamilton’s future was up in the air. The contract negotiations between him and Toto Wolff were drawn out longer than everyone thought they would. Considering how Mercedes just hasn’t been in fighting form, it made people wonder whether Hamilton was really considering a move to Ferrari. The Scuderia was quite competitive last season, albeit for just a short while. With doubts creeping up about Hamilton’s devotion to Mercedes, Toto Wolff was a bit on edge, too. 

But Wolff believed Hamilton belonged at Mercedes, and evidently, the seven-time champion believed so, too. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, as quoted by sportsmole.co.uk, Wolff said, “There was a bit of a delay, but it was clear that it would end like this, with Lewis staying with us. Some time ago, Lewis told me, ‘I saw John Elkann at dinner, but know that I’m not going anywhere.’” John Elkann is the executive chairman of Ferrari. With such an A-list meeting—the head of Ferrari and the most successful F1 driver—speculations were inevitable. 

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“Then, when they wrote about his conversation with Ferrari, he said again, ‘Toto, I’m not carrying out any negotiations. There was never an inch of doubt in my mind,’” added Wolff. Being an F1 driver and getting the chance to drive for Ferrari is something almost every driver dreams of as a kid. Hamilton was no different. After his contract announcement, he said, “I thought about and watched the Ferrari drivers on the screens at the track, and of course, you wonder what it would be like to be in Red.” But there was never a doubt in his mind that Mercedes was where he wanted to be. “This is my home,” he said.

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Although the negotiations ended as almost everyone expected, both parties took quite a long time to come to an agreement. Hamilton is still chasing that eighth title, so could Mercedes’ poor form, coupled with the extended negotiations, have brought to light certain trust issues?

Hamilton may have underlying trust issues with Mercedes

A few weeks ago, Hamilton revealed he’d go to the Mercedes factory in Brackley to meet with the engineers working on the W15. Why? To ensure that they’re making the changes he’d requested. A lot of people speculated that he doesn’t completely trust his team. To be fair, he had every right to check on the W15, especially considering Mercedes chose to ignore his concerns for the past two seasons.

In 2022, while every other car on track looked normal, Mercedes introduced the W13 with no sidepods. The Brackley squad struggled with the car throughout the year, not knowing how to improve. Hamilton knew it was the zero-pod concept that wasn’t working and told his team. Instead of listening to him and scrapping the idea, Mercedes opted for the same design for 2023. After testing and the first few rounds, Wolff & Co. realized their mistake and revamped the W14, introducing a B-spec in Monaco. Seeing what has happened, it may not come as a surprise that there are trust issues at Mercedes.

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Did you ever think there was a possibility that Lewis Hamilton would move to Ferrari?