Hamilton not distracted: Mercedes F1 boss

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he is "always worried" about Lewis Hamilton's off-track interests but believes the star is focused on another Formula 1 title.

Toto Wolff

Mercedes' Toto Wolff insists star F1 driver Lewis Hamilton isn't distracted. (AAP)

Some of Lewis Hamilton's social media posts are enough to make even stoic Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff raise his eyebrows.

Sky diving in Qatar. Surfing lessons with Kelly Slater. And perhaps the biggest shock - designing clothes for Tommy Hilfiger?

Yet while Wolff admitted he was "always worried" about Hamilton's off-track antics, he said nothing would distract the 34-year-old Formula 1 star from his quest for a sixth world title.

"We had a laugh last year because I couldn't get hold of him and couldn't get hold of my chief strategist and one of the race engineers," Wolff said.

"I found out they were racing motorbikes in Jerez and nobody would pick up the phone - they were a bit apologetic.

"But Lewis is not an 18 or 19-year-old young man any more. He's a five-time world champion. He knows exactly what works for him and what doesn't."

It takes a lot to stir the stony-faced Wolff, with cynics claiming he almost smiled as Hamilton stormed to his fifth world title last year.

But he would have almost gasped when Hamilton posted footage of himself skydiving in Qatar ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

Then there was the post of him surfing with 11-time world champion Slater, and he still somehow found time to launch a new clothing line with Hilfiger.

But Wolff said Hamilton would be as focused as ever behind the wheel at the Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne.

"All these activities are not a negative distraction ... every time he's able to decompress from motor racing, he comes back stronger," Wolff said.

"We mustn't be judgemental. Some people go on a meditation seminar to India, others do sky-diving, others are out for the ladies.

"Let's accept how everybody is."


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2 min read
Published 16 March 2019 2:06pm
Source: AAP


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