F1 | Ralf Schumacher: “Verstappen rejected Mercedes”

In a chat given to the microphones of Bild, Ralf Schumacher explained the reasons that led Mercedes to renew its "trust" in Lewis Hamilton, specifying how the world champion team, in a certain sense, found itself "back to back wall” and forced to continue working with the seven-time world champion.

According to the former Jordan, Williams and Toyota driver, Toto Wolff's first choice for 2022 was Max Verstappen, a driver with a "lighter" identity card than Hamilton and eager to climb to the top of the world after the defeats of last years. The latter, however, preferred to refuse the courtship of the Brackley-based team, choosing to renew his faith in the Red Bull project.

A closure which in fact forced Wolff to divert his attention solely to the renewal of Lewis Hamilton, who then arrived with a two-year contract (annual plus option for the second year) until the end of the 2023 season.

“I have a very specific idea about Lewis Hamilton's renewal with Mercedes for the 2022 season,” said the German. “The extension of the contract expiring at the end of this year, at least as far as I'm concerned, can be explained by Max Verstappen's clear 'no' to moving to Brackley. Wolff&Company wanted to secure Max to sleep peacefully, but he didn't accept and therefore the only path to follow was to renew Lewis."