Guenther Steiner thinks Toto Wolff took an ‘insecure’ measure against Lewis Hamilton while he raced for Mercedes

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Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes over the winter after an 11-year partnership has headed in a surprising direction.

Seeking a new challenge, he joined Ferrari, where he has now managed to go on the longest podium-less streak of his career.

The highlight of 2025 was Hamilton’s sprint race victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, which signalled that he may be in contention for an eighth drivers’ championship.

Since then, he has struggled to match what he delivered even in his worst seasons with Mercedes, and has a lot of work to do across the summer break.

Hamilton defends his Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli, and can see that he has the potential to be a champion in the future.

Half a year into his move, it has been suggested that ‘90%’ of Ferrari insiders disagreed with signing Hamilton, and he hasn’t brought enough to convince them otherwise so far.

READ MORE: Ferrari have already suffered one ‘complete failure’ with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s 2026 F1 rules car

Guenther Steiner thinks Toto Wolff’s Mercedes strategy approach for Lewis Hamilton was ‘insecure’

The 2026 F1 regulations are a massive turning point in Hamilton’s career. It’s an opportunity for him to prove that it was the car that gave him problems this season.

Riding off into the sunset, having ended Ferrari’s nearly two-decade title drought, would be a dream for any driver, particularly while breaking the record for most championships of all time.

Worryingly, Ferrari have already suffered one ‘complete failure’ for 2026, but they have time to put themselves on the right path. One man who knows about setting a team up for success is Hamilton’s ex-boss, Toto Wolff.

Guenther Steiner thinks that Wolff was good at making an ‘insecure’ strategy call in order to avoid conflict between his drivers when they had a dominant car.

“For example, Oscar [Piastri] didn’t complain about the other guys’ strategy. I chose this one and lost. I think at Mercedes, the chemistry between the two drivers was not as good, or their character was not accepting that,” he said

“So to avoid this, maybe Toto Wolff said, ‘I don’t want to have after the race, all these big debates in the press – they let him do this.’ He was insecure that that could happen.

“So, he said, ‘You know how I stop this? I just tell them we have the same strategy, because we are winning anyway, so let them have the same strategy and let them race. If they run into each other, it’s their fault; at least they cannot blame the team for it.'”

READ MORE: Toto Wolff shares why Lewis Hamilton refuses to blame Ferrari for his ‘difficult times’ this season

The extra lengths Lewis Hamilton was prepared to go to for Ferrari drive in 2025

Now aged 40, becoming world champion in 2026 would see Hamilton crowned the third-oldest champion of all-time, and the oldest since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957.

Hamilton’s age is affecting him in three concerning ways that he can’t do much about, according to ex-F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Mentally, he’s going to find it more difficult by the day to remain sharp, but there are other areas that he can work harder in to make up for it.

Hamilton went to never-before-seen lengths at Ferrari by starting his training for the campaign earlier than usual. He wanted to make things work and desperately wants to win in red.