Damon Hill ‘worried’ after Lewis Hamilton’s less than effervescent claims

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton puts his head down on the grid.

Damon Hill is uncertain about his Mercedes future in 2024 after not answering a question about Lewis Hamilton’s hopes for next season. Max Verstappen, seeking his 19th win of the season, crossed the line in Abu Dhabi 18 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Hamilton finished ninth, 26 seconds ahead.

It was a disappointing end to a season where Mercedes ditched the zero point philosophy in favor of bulky side pillars like Red Bull. Damon Hill: He wasn’t very happy

They didn’t, leaving Hamilton worried about what lies ahead for him and Mercedes in 2024.

When Rachel Brooks asked if his team could challenge Red Bull next season, he said: “I really don’t know at the moment.” “The fact that Red Bull won by 17 seconds and haven’t built a car since August is certainly a concern.”

His somber response worried Hill, the 1996 world champion.

“It was a long and difficult year. And he’ll come back from it,” he told the Sky F1 show.

“But the unsettling part was when Rachel asked if there was any hope for what was to come. “He wasn’t interested at all.”

But the Brits are confident that Mercedes has learned lessons from the past two years of testing that will benefit next year’s W15.

“I’m sure they’ll come back a second time,” he added. “They learned something from the last two seasons and they have to learn something from this year as well. This means you have the ability to change direction.

“He drove a lot of changes when this team stuck with the original car, pushing them to change and think differently. “So I’m pretty sure the new car won’t look like the current car.”

But while Hill is worried about Hamilton, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff’s comments after Abu Dhabi have left teammate Naomi Schiff a little worried.

In an interview with the Austrian after the race, Schiff was asked if Mercedes would “build on a completely new foundation or start from scratch” next year, to which Wolff did not give a concrete answer, but said “there are good things in preparation”. “Lewis has said many times that he wants to leave his legacy there,” Schiff said.

“So I think there is still hope for the team. I am confident that the Holy Spirit can change things, even when Toto is speaking through our rooms. “Of course not this year, but the atmosphere is still not good.

“But I knew what Lewis was into. At this point it was disappointing to see Red Bull win by 17 seconds. “The question I’m trying to put to Toto is: are they going to build from this point next year or are they going to take something completely different and change, like an Aston Martin or a McLaren? Could this set them back? to the drawing board?

“So I don’t know. Does that mean it’s still under construction?” We hope not.”