F1 2023 Saudi Arabian GP | FIA Team Principals press conference

F1 2023 Saudi Arabian GP | FIA Team Principals press conference

Watch the F1 2023 Saudi Arabian GP FIA Team Principals press conference at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, featuring interviews with the following F1 team representatives:

Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Franz TOST (AlphaTauri), James VOWLES (Williams) and Alessandro ALUNNI BRAVI (Alfa Romeo).

There as been much speculation over Lewis Hamilton’s future has increased after Mercedes poor start to the 2023 Formula 1 season; Hamilton’s current contract with the team expires at the end of this season. Toto Wolff has admitted that Lewis Hamilton “needs to look” at joining other teams in the future if Mercedes are unable to provide him with a winning car.

“I don’t think that Lewis will leave Mercedes,” Wolff said after watching Hamilton and team-mate Russell finish more than a second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at first practice in Jeddah.

“He’s at the stage of his career where we trust each other, we’ve formed a great bond among each other, we have no reason to doubt each other even though this is a difficult spell.

“So nice it will be when we come out of this valley of tears and come back to solid performances.

“As a driver, if he wants to win another championship, he needs to make sure that he has the car, and if we cannot demonstrate that we can give him the car in the next couple of years then he needs to look everywhere – I don’t think that he’s at that stage but I would have no grouch if that happens in a year or two.”

Wolff also made notable comments in Bahrain, accepting that the team’s design concept had failed and that they would now move in a different direction.

Asked whether he had spoken to Hamilton about the driver’s comments in Bahrain, Wolff said: “We speak all the time but it’s not just one word that matters in the team.

“Because we know each other so well, we know there are emotions at play with him, with me, with many others in our team – we wear the heart on our sleeves.”

0:00 – Bravi’s thoughts on Alfa Romeo’s solid start of F1 2023 Season.
2:48 – Vowles’ assessment of the Williams FW45 and Williams Onboarding.
6:26 – Tost – “I don’t trust them [engineers] anymore.”
10:02 – Wolff on Mercedes car development, and thoughts concerning Lewis Hamilton
21:43 – Tost just wants to AlphaTauri to perform better & upcoming updates.
22:51 – Wolff on Lewis Hamilton’s trainer Angela Cullen leaving the team and Lewis Hamilton
24:00 – Vowels expands on previous thought expressed around the experience of ‘tough love’ from his years at Mercedes & thoughts around Logan Sargeant
26:32 – Wolff thoughts on the Budget cap and its implications for this season for Mercedes.
29:03 – Bravi’s thoughts on the Budget cap and how it helps Alfa Romeo and F1’s objectives.
29:45 – Tost’s explains the need to go in the right direction in terms of car development and again not trusting the engineers
31:35 – Wolff expands further on the planned car development for the Mercedes W14 & Jérôme d’Ambrosio role at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.

📌 Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia

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