The Mancunian, 59, left the team at the end of last year after Paddy Lowe was
hired from McLaren without his knowledge. Brawn is not expected to be at the
gathering in Brackley, but he is still in contact with members of the team.
Lowe has been delayed travelling back from Russia, so will take the stage
along with Hamilton and Rosberg on Tuesday. Mercedes received an estimated
£40 million for winning the championship.
Now Mercedes have secured the constructors’ title, and with either Hamilton or
Rosberg almost certain to win the drivers’ championship, it was thought that
the pair would be free to race each other without consequences. But Wolff
joked that the two were still on an “invisible leash”.
Wolff also confirmed that the team are poised to offer Hamilton a contract for
2016 and beyond, with the 29-year-old’s current deal expiring at the end of
next year.
There had been speculation that Fernando Alonso might try to swoop to take
Hamilton’s seat for 2016, but Alonso revealed in Sochi that he “doesn’t
think” his next team will be powered by a Mercedes engine.
Negotiations on a new deal for Hamilton will wait until after the final race
in Abu Dhabi, where double points are on offer.
Records have been falling like dominoes for Hamilton but he will be desperate
to avoid one landmark: the first and probably only man to lose a drivers’
championship on this rule.
Hamilton equalled Nigel Mansell’s tally of 31 victories – the highest by any
British driver – in the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Mansell, the 1992 world champion, quickly sent his congratulations, and said
that he hoped his compatriot would eclipse him at the next race in Austin, a
venue where Hamilton usually thrives. However, the brilliance of Hamilton’s
driving could be rendered irrelevant if he encounters ill‑fortune in
Abu Dhabi, allowing Rosberg to sweep to the title.
The gap after Sochi is 17 points, the biggest lead Hamilton has had all year.
But Rosberg needs only a fifth and a sixth place at the next two races to
remain in contention going into the double-pointer. Even more amazingly,
Hamilton could win 11 rounds this year to Rosberg’s five and still come out
the loser.
However, pessimistic thoughts do not cloud Hamilton’s mind as they might have
done in the past. “I think it’s important not to put any negative energy out
there,” the Englishman said last night. “It’s no good thinking what if this
happens, of if that happens, or even thinking about what happens if I win.
The what-ifs is the wrong way of looking at it. It’s like looking at the
glass half-empty. I’m thinking about the best car, and the best form of my
life, all the opportunities are here.”
Wolff admitted that Mercedes’ historic triumph had been overshadowed by
continued concern for Jules Bianchi, the Frenchman involved in a
life-threatening collision with a truck at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Race officials have been criticised for their handling of the crash, with no
one more scathing than Alain Prost. The Frenchman renewed his attack, saying
that he could not believe the truck was near to the track recovering Adrian
Sutil’s Sauber while the cars were still travelling at speed. “I don’t want
to make any polemics with the FIA [motorsport’s governing body], because I
have a lot of respect for what has been done in terms of safety over the
past 20 years,” Prost said. “It is cars and tracks [that have been improved]
and there was only one thing left: it was this f—— truck on the track. I
was furious. I was really shocked by the accident.” Bianchi remains in a
“critical but stable” condition in hospital in Yokkaichi, Japan.
Meanwhile, Jenson Button admitted the continued uncertainty over his McLaren
future had turned comical. The Englishman is still waiting for the team to
decide whether to retain him next season.
Button, who drove to a fine fourth in Sochi, said: “I have gone past that
[being frustrated]. I am just enjoying racing. It was nice the car worked
last weekend and good that the team were getting everything out of it. It is
getting closer to a decision being made because it has to be made at some
point before next year but I am not worried or scared whatever direction I
go in the future.”
Asked if he was annoyed it was taking so long for McLaren to make a final
decision, the 2009 champion replied: “Not any more. I was at the last race
[in Japan], but I am more relaxed with it. It is getting so close to the end
of the season, it is actually getting funny.”