Sky journalist suggests one driver’s future could be decided by Monaco upgrade set

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Journalist Simon Lazenby has suggested that Lewis Hamilton could decide his Mercedes future based on how well the team’s latest upgrades package performs.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Lazenby was discussing the seven-time World Champions’ future.

Lewis Hamilton was the subject of an incredible story recently linking him with a move to Ferrari.

It’s not the first time in his career rumours have circulated about a potential move to the Italian team.

However, with Mercedes producing arguably their worst car since the Brit joined the team, he may well be tempted to look elsewhere.

Like many teams on the grid, Mercedes were expected to bring upgrades to Imola last weekend.

The race’s cancellation scuppered those plans which means they’re now likely to debut in Monte Carlo.

Lazenby has suggested that Hamilton’s future at the team could depend on the success of those upgrades.

The pressure is on the Brackley-based team to get this right.

Mercedes upgrades could decide Hamilton future

Discussing the legendary driver’s future and Mercedes’s current issues, Lazenby said: “I think a lot of Lewis’s decisions about his future depends on this upgrade set.

“When you look back to what happened last year, the hopes for the W13 coming out of the simulator were that it was going to blow the rest of them away.

“It was going to blow Red Bull away, it was going to blow Ferrari away.

“And then the correlation between what happened there and reality, well we all know the story.

“All of these years’ problems have come from the fact that I think they were just tantalised by those figures that just said we’re going to completely and utterly destroy the field, let’s stick with it.

“They get into this year and all the limitations that were created by having to try to solve those problems, including keeping Lewis further up front in terms of seating position so he doesn’t feel the rear of the car, they just had to have a reset.

“They had to have a complete rethink of their philosophy. If they get it wrong this time, what happens with the no-blame culture then?”

Hamilton will hope that these latest upgrades give him the impetus he needs to commit his future to Mercedes.

He doesn’t seem to be in any rush to move on and has been associated with Mercedes since he was a teenager.

However, he won’t want to hang around on the grid forever waiting to see if the team can deliver a championship-winning car.

Whether anyone other than Red Bull is going to be in that position over the next few years is also doubtful.

Mercedes won’t want to give the 38-year-old any reason to want to look elsewhere next season.