Steiner: If Wolff pays, Hamilton can drive for Haas

First, why would a loyal driver who only raced for two teams in the top flight - McLaren and Mercedes - won his seven F1 world titles powered by Merc move away and destroy a hard-built and wonderful legacy of success with one manufacturer? Money, unlikely. Victories with Ferrari are also unlikely any time soon; teammate to Max Verstappen will never happen. So what's left? Nichts!

Fueling the 'will-he-or-won't-he-sign' fire is the fact that an extension to his contract was expected at the start of this season, but it's dragged on prompting speculation that terms are yet to be decided, while Mercedes are below par (relative to their winning ways of not too long ago) they appear to be improving, and apparently, by Imola, they will unleash a beast (they hope) to replace the current version of the W14 and hopefully have them challenging for wins again.

Speaking during his 'Surviving to Survive book tour, unlikely (full-time?) Netflix superstar and (part-time?) F1 team boss Steiner predicted: “Lewis will stay at Mercedes until the end of his career. What other opportunities are out there for him? Think about that one. What other options are around? I don’t think he has many.

“He is at a stage where he is so close [to the end] that doing anything different and getting used to something else would not be very positive for him. He is not happy this year because he hasn’t won a race. But he has had a lot of good years with Mercedes so he needs to stick with the people who made him.”

As for the delay in inking a deal, Steiner sees smoke: “They have said ‘everything is fine and we will be signing’. So, why have they not signed? Because they are not ready. OK, so there must be something going on.

“Obviously there comes a point where we all get too old for something but Lewis still has a few years left. Toto will know when he has to pull the plug. Maybe they have decided to wait a little bit. I don’t know if they have not had time to get to it, or if it is something to do with the negotiations.

“But their relationship is very strong and sometimes both sides are not in a hurry. I would want him at Haas but we cannot afford him. If Toto pays the bill, I will take him," declared Steiner, which should have his current veterans - Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg - worried. Not!

For a decade and a half Lewis has covered their magazines and websites with a billion of headlines and millions of photos. His departure from the scene could be a massive blow to interest in F1, mostly on the Island unless, of course, Lando Norris or George Russell can galvanise a nation as Lewis has always done. Time will tell if the lads turn out to be Kings too.

Worth noting, history shows that German fans, multitudes of them followed Michael Schumacher in a cult-like way similar to how Max Verstappen is followed and adored by the Orange Army these days. But when the Ferrari glory years ended in 2004, with his final title that year, interest in F1 within the country went AWOL instantly, even with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg winning F1 titles for the country, nada. Interest has never matched the mega-mania of the Schumi-era.

The same could happen when Hamilton rides off into the sunset and Britons switch off F1. Overdosed with his success, underwhelmed by anything less. Thus the longer he stays at the pinnacle of the sport is a high priority, hence the talk of a move to Ferrari to fulfil "every driver's dream" (that old cliche) has arisen in UK media during this slow-news period, even catching the attention of the Italian press.

Leo Turrini writes of the 'Lewis-to-Maranello Dream' in his column: "Hamilton is still very good behind the wheel but, let's put it this way, with absolutely equal cars, in my opinion, Verstappen would win. HAM is very close to Mercedes. He wants the eighth title with them, to then quit.

"What would he do if he realised that he could no longer win with the Silver Arrow? I don't know.
On the other hand, I know that Hamilton has never been close to a Ferrari move. Talk of [Luca di] Montezemolo wanting to replace [Fernando] Alonso with him never happened. Never.

"However, it is true that John Elkann, who became Ferrari president after [Sergio] Marchionne's death, asked for information on HAM's contract. That was 2019, by now Vettel was almost at the end of his credits with the Reds. But Lewis by then had won titles in a flurry running alone and was not in the least interested in the prospect.

"Today, 2023, but in every case contracts [with Sainz and Leclerc] are in force in Maranello until 2025, but it's F1 and if there is a will there is a way, if anything the media hit of "Hamilton to Ferrari" would be sensational but if F1 do the Reds need a marketing operation. And furthermore, what could convince Hamilton to set up shop at the Scuderia that hasn't touched the ball for almost twenty years?

"Not the money: he is richer than Sardanapalus. Not the emotional challenge: a champion goes (eg. Senna) where he thinks he can be the added value that transforms points finishes into victories. But even Verstappen wouldn't do it with the current Ferrari," concludes Turrini. What about a Haas?