1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill believes Lewis Hamilton’s vocal criticism of the W14 was to “shake the tree a little bit” at Mercedes.
Mercedes have started the year with the fourth-fastest car behind Red Bull, Aston Martin and Ferrari.
As a result, Toto Wolff has hinted that Mercedes may adopt an entirely new car concept, making clear that they’ve gone down the wrong route with the development of the W14.
Mercedes’ poor performance in Bahrain led to criticism from Hamilton, who claimed that they didn’t listen to his feedback from last year when designing the new car – Hamilton has since clarified his comments.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Thursday in Jeddah, Hill questioned whether Hamilton would actually leave Mercedes amid his recent public criticism.
“I think it is far-fetched,” he said. “I think he knows this team at Mercedes, I think he just wants a reaction.
“He wants to shake the tree a little bit. He’s certainly done that! But they know where they are with Lewis, he knows where he is with the team.
“He knows they’ve got the capability, but they need to have a wake-up call, which they’ve had.
“I remember also in my career saying a few things about a Japanese engine that I was using at the time. I was told off by my team boss that ‘I shouldn’t speak out and I’m supposed to not criticise the team publicly’. But I’ll tell you what – I got a better engine later!”
Hill believes Hamilton’s public comments are a way of voicing his concern to Mercedes that they need to improve if he’s to remain with the team beyond the year.
“We’ve heard a lot from Mercedes about how they have a ‘no-blame culture’, but with Lewis mentioning that he’s not being listened to, I think there’s been too-ing and fro-ing with the public statement by Mercedes to their fans saying ‘stick with us, we’re going to come good, but we’re not going to give up’,” he added.
“It’s been a lot of kind of refocusing or trying to bolster support and faith in the team.
“Of course, he’s got his contract negotiations coming up, but he has to say these things. He has to make it clear that he’s not going to stick around if things don’t change and improve.
“He’s there to win, he wants to win his eighth world title. Mercedes know the deal, they have to produce a better car than the one they started the season with.”
Keyword: ‘He wants to shake the tree, get a reaction’ - Damon Hill on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes criticism