Lewis Hamilton is confident that Toto Wolff will continue the inclusivity push at Mercedes even when he is not there to have the “difficult conversations”.

Over recent years Hamilton has become increasingly outspoken on topics important to him, a key one being his desire for the Formula 1 paddock to be a more diverse place, with Mercedes backing their seven-time World Champion in that quest through initiatives like ‘Accelerate 25’ and their ‘Ignite’ partnership with Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton wants Mercedes diversity work to continue

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

But Hamilton is readying for a fresh F1 career chapter having signed a multi-year deal with Ferrari starting from F1 2025.

And while he will no longer be there at Mercedes to have the “difficult conversations” with team principal Toto Wolff about diversity, he expects the Austrian will not take his foot off the gas.

Asked by the media, including PlanetF1.com, what he is most proud of having achieved with Mercedes off track, Hamilton said: “I think the thing that I’m most proud of when I think about what I leave behind, I hope, in a positive way, is the work we’ve done with diversity inclusion. That’s been something I’m most proud of.

“From the first moment sitting down with Toto, him being open-minded, for the whole team being open-minded, all team members going through diversity inclusion training, actually creating a diversity team.

“We did Ignite, actually really putting their money where their mouth is and investing and we have a very, very diverse team now, which is something that I’m really grateful for being a part of.

“And when I sit with Toto, I’m like, ‘Look, when I leave, there’s going to be no one in the room that’s going to have these difficult conversations with you, but I hope that you continue that’, and obviously he will.”

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So that is on the track, but what about on it?

Hamilton and Mercedes have achieved record-breaking success together, Hamilton winning six of his seven World titles during a streak of eight straight Mercedes Constructors’ triumphs between 2014-21. As well as matching Michael Schumacher’s record of seven titles, Hamilton has set F1 records such as most victories (105) in his time at Mercedes.

“And then on the track, I think naturally it’s our show of resilience over the years and the continued pursuit of perfection,” Hamilton continued. “I loved that journey.

“These last few years have not been obviously spectacular in terms of performances, but there’s a lot of great things we’ve done away from the track, particularly. And again, I think this has been a real test of time to show how resilient we are. We’re still here. We’re still showing up. We’re still giving it our all. And that’s something to be proud of.”

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