Wolff issues clarification over Hamilton F1 'shelf life' remark

Toto Wolff has declared a comment he made about Lewis Hamilton's F1 “shelf life” was taken out of context.

In the recently published book Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane, Wolff was addressing Hamilton's pending move to Ferrari.

The Austrian stated: “We’re in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has a shelf life. So I need to look at the next generation.”

Wolff has since moved to defend Hamilton's abilities behind the wheel, stating the 39-year-old is still “very sharp”.

“You know that was taken a little bit out of context,” Wolff told BBC Radio 4. 

“What I was referring to was that all of us age, whether it is in a car, on a pitch, or as a manager or entrepreneur. 

“And that is what I am trying to do with myself, understand, ‘Am I going from great to good?’ Because good is not in Formula 1 anymore.”

“Now contrary to my own self-assessment, I think we see with Lewis that he’s very much there when the car is right. 

“And we haven’t been able to give him that car to perform his best, and that is a frustration that we share equally in the team, and for himself.

“But he’s very sharp. He’s different to when he was a 20-year-old, that’s certainly clear. But his experience and his race craft is tremendous.”

Hamilton will be replaced at Mercedes next year by 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli, who has been associated with the team for several years through its junior programme.