Toto Wolff has been accused of talking “b******* for the cameras” with a promise he made to Lewis Hamilton after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mercedes chief claimed that he will cheer if the seven-time world champion wins races with Ferrari.
Hamilton emotionally bid farewell to Mercedes after last week’s race. The 39-year-old will join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season.
Wolff shares an excellent relationship with Hamilton and made a touching promise to the outgoing star. “If we can’t win, we will cheer for him,” the Austrian said.
However, former Haas boss Guenther Steiner believes his former counterpart was talking “b*******” and will not be cheering if Hamilton earns victories while Mercedes struggle.
“He doesn’t wish him that,” the 59-year-old told the Red Flags Podcast.
“That was b******* for the camera, this was for the camera.”
Asked if he thought Wolff would be happy if Hamilton wins his eighth world title with Ferrari, Steiner added: “No, because he didn’t win it. There can be only one winner.
“Why should he be happy? He said, if it is not us, it should be you, yeah, for sure. But if he doesn’t win it, he doesn’t really care who wins it, in my opinion.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton has said that he hopes to return to Mercedes in the future.
Speaking to staff at an Abu Dhabi debrief, he insisted that he would continue to look out for where George Russell and his replacement, Kimi Antonelli, are in the leaderboards.
“Mercedes has changed my life,” Hamilton said. “Growing up in Stevenage, dreaming of one day being in Formula One and being a World Champion.
And definitely back then, it was me and my two parents.
“I didn’t know that there would be a huge amount of people that I get to work with, who would be the ones to life me up and take me on that journey to winning something like that.
“I’m going to always be looking on the screens and seeing where you guys are. I’m always going to be wishing you all the absolute best.
“I believe in you. I’ll continue to believe in you. And when you do have that success, I’ll be so proud of you, to know that I was hopefully a little bit part of your dream that you’re living as well.
And I do hope, as I said, in many years to come, I’ll be able to come back and see you all.”
