Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has called Toto Wolff’s comments about wanting to see Lewis Hamilton win without Mercedes F1 “bullshit”, if Mercedes can’t win instead.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton bid farewell to Mercedes after 12 seasons in the finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as he prepares to make a move to Ferrari from next year.
Speaking after the race, Toto Wolff said he would like to see Hamilton win at Ferrari if his own team cannot compete for the championship.
"If we can’t win, we’ll cheer for him," Wolff told the media.
“He deserves an eighth championship but obviously the team, the drivers, the brand, it’s the main priority to win and we will give everything we can.”
But Steiner, who was Haas F1 team principal between 2016 and 2023, said the remarks were “for the cameras”.
“He obviously doesn’t want that. It was bullshit for the cameras. It was for television.”
Asked if he thinks Wolff wouldn’t be happy if Hamilton won an eighth title with Ferrari, Steiner says the Austrian is being hypocritical.
“No, because that means Toto won’t have won it.”
“Why should he be happy? He said ‘if it’s not us, it should be you’. But yeah, of course. But if he doesn’t win it, he doesn’t really care who will win it in my opinion.”
Steiner insisted he did not get carried away by the emotion surrounding Hamilton’s final Grand Prix for Mercedes.
“Getting emotional? No. He decided to go to Ferrari, he’s not leaving. You don’t need to get emotional about it!”
“He got emotional about it, there was no reason to. He knew what he was doing when he signed the contract 10 months ago.”
“It was a fantastic partnership for sure. Lewis did a lot for Mercedes, but Mercedes did a lot for Lewis. It’s a win-win situation.”
