Toto Wolff says Mercedes has no 'Plan B' in its drawer to offset the departure of Lewis Hamilton at the end of the season, should the seven-time world champion decide to move on or retire from F1.
Hamilton's current contract with Mercedes expires at the end of this year. Ahead of the start of the 2023 season, Wolff confirmed that he had initiated talks with the Briton over extending the latter's tenure with the Brackley squad .
Since however, the two parties have not resumed their discussions, which has created a degree of uncertainty regarding their collaboration in 2024.
Yet, Wolff is spending little to no time devising an alternative plan in case Hamilton opts to sail into the sunset at the end of the year.
"I think it may sound naive, but I really struggle to think of a Plan B, if my Plan A is still the one that is my favourite," Wolff told Motorsport.com.
"I don't want to engage in discussions with other drivers, because I'm happy with the ones that are in the team, that's for sure. At the moment, there is no Plan B. It's Lewis."
Although Wolff remains convinced that Hamilton's chances of leaving the grid at the end of 2023 are remote, the Austrian isn't discarding the possibility entirely.
But the Mercedes boss believes that Hamilton would not leave his team hanging should he decide to move on.
"I think that he would tell us early enough," added Wolff. "I don't think that Lewis would say: 'I can't do this any more. I'm out of here tomorrow.'
"He would always feel the responsibility for the team. He wouldn't leave the team alone. Drivers can always take decisions [like that], but he wouldn't let us down.
"But then, I think if you believe that you're a team that is attractive for others, you will find solutions."
On the other side of the negotiation table, Hamilton has given every indication that he plans to race on in the future, with Mercedes.
"I love this team, I'm so grateful for everyone that's been on the journey with me with this team," the 38-year-old said in Jeddah last month.
"I don't envisage being anywhere else, and I don't see myself quitting, I don't feel like I'm a quitter.
"But I wouldn't say that it's giving me a lot. You know, I've been there and done that, bought the T-shirt many times!
"But I am trying to be patient and work with the team to get us to a good place. And that's all I can say right now. I'm not going anywhere else."
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