For Zak Brown, Hamilton can leave Mercedes at the end of 2021
McLaren's chief executive is banking on Lewis Hamilton's departure and a new duo for Mercedes in 2022.
The new season has not even begun… and we’re already talking about the next one!
McLaren’s executive director Zak Brown believes that Lewis Hamilton will no longer be a Mercedes driver in 2022. This opinion was expressed in a long interview with the English media Daily Mail, ahead of the 2021 season.
A Russell-Verstappen duo at Mercedes for Zak Brown
For Zak Brown, the conditions are right for Hamilton to leave Mercedes at the end of the season. The executive director even talks about a new duo Russell-Verstappen for 2022!
« I think Lewis will win his eighth title this year. He will be the most successful driver of all time. And his contract ends at the end of the season. George will be out of contract and Max as well. »
« You have Max’s experience and youth… And you have George’s youth. If I were in Mercedes’ shoes, it would be a nice lineup of killers for the next 5 years!
A Russell-Verstappen duo in 2022: « if I were in Mercedes’ shoes, it would be a killer lineup for the next 5 years! » Zak Brown
Anyway, if Lewis leaves Mercedes, he won’t go elsewhere according to Zak Brown.
« Lewis has this opportunity to be the man at Mercedes so I don’t see why he would want to move. » Let’s specify though that if Zak Brown imagines a Russell-Verstappen duo for 2022, he is not talking about Valtteri Bottas’s case. Like Hamilton, the Finn is out of contract at the end of the season.
Also discussed in the interview are the team’s prospects, third in the last constructors’ championship. With its new Mercedes engine, the Woking team hopes to continue moving forward.
From then on, is a return for Hamilton to McLaren impossible? It would be for a contract of one or two seasons. And we are not ready yet to fight for the title, says Brown. So, we need to set up a driver line-up to put ourselves in a position to reach the goal. I don’t think it would be the right timing for Lewis.
For 2021, McLaren is counting on its new driver, Daniel Ricciardo, paired with Lando Norris. And Zak Brown assures: his two drivers have long contracts.
