Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Wolff backs Hamilton's jet-set lifestyle

©LewisHamilton/Instagram

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has backed Lewis Hamilton's jet-set lifestyle as he feels it brings the best out of his driver.

Hamilton has been more open on social media this year about his travels and personal life, especially after wrapping up his third drivers' championship in the United States. However, having failed to win another race after securing the title, Hamilton's way of life came under scrutiny from certain quarters, including former world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

With Hamilton having won the last two drivers' championships driving for Mercedes, Wolff says there should be no criticism of his driver for finding a balance which allows him to perform at such a high level.

"One should not pigeonhole people and imagine the perfect racer as someone who obediently goes to bed at ten clock in the evening, or who never attended a party and who is not flying around the world," Wolff told Speedweek.

"Lewis does it all, but he drives better than ever. Our tasks is to provide the driver with an environment in which they feel comfortable and where they can give their best performance to because they deserve a certain amount of freedom."

Wolff has previously warned Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg he would be willing to drop one of them if their rivalry has a negative impact on the rest of the team.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.