Lewis Hamilton makes feelings clear on ditching Mercedes for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton has hinted he will stay with Mercedes beyond this season, insisting he is confident the team “can get back to the front”. Opening up on the decade he has spent at Mercedes, Hamilton admitted that while they “don’t have a great car right now” he is not thinking about leaving.

The seven-time F1 world champion has been linked with a switch to Ferrari, given his current deal with Mercedes is up at the end of the season.

Last year, Hamilton found himself unable to compete for the world title for the first time since 2013. The Brit failed to win a single race all season and has struggled so far this term, finishing fifth in both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

As a result, the likes of Eddie Jordan and Simon Lazenby have suggested Hamilton should leave Mercedes and move to Ferrari next year, in order to start challenging for world titles again. However, the 38-year-old has insisted he has no desire to leave his current team.

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“If I don’t feel like I’m being challenged, I’m not progressing or I’m not evolving, that is where you start thinking about your next move,” he said. “And I just haven’t felt that in these 10 years.

“I feel like the whole team has been evolving, with new people, new structures being put in place, new targets being set. I feel that I’ve had the right team to grow. Not only as a driver but as a man.

“I’ve been given the ability to be myself and been accepted by Mercedes. And look what we’ve accomplished together – not only in results on track but things we’ve accomplished off-track and the steps we’ve taken.

“The changes we’re making through Accelerate 25 and Mission 44, where we are really starting to impact people. It makes me so proud because we hold ourselves to the highest standards and highest levels in everything we do. We know we’re not perfect and we can always be better – that’s what we are always trying to do.

“We don’t have a great car right now but we’re putting one foot in front of the other. We know we can get back to the front. It’s going to be the hardest task we’ve faced together to get back to where we want to be and catch Red Bull. But what an accomplishment that will be!”