F1 News: Max Verstappen suggests Lewis Hamilton will be kicked OUT of Mercedes meetings

Lewis Hamilton speaks into a microphone — Photo: © IMAGO

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Verstappen suggests Hamilton will be kicked OUT of Mercedes meetings

The seven-time champion may not be able to hear key information from his team

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 16 February 2024 19:57

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Three-time world champion Max Verstappen has said that it will be a 'bit weird' for Lewis Hamilton, when he is inevitably told that he can't be a part of certain Mercedes meetings.

The 39-year-old has decided to make the switch to Ferrari at the end of the upcoming season, ditching the Mercedes team that he has been with for what will be 12 seasons, winning six of his seven world championship titles.

Hamilton has made the decision in one last attempt to try and claim an unprecedented eighth title, signing a contract with the Maranello-based team that will take him well into his 40s.

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The Brit has vowed to make his final season with Mercedes a good one, as he attempts to return the Brackley-based outfit to winning ways, with himself not having won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

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Hamilton to be banned from Mercedes meetings

Despite Hamilton's great relationship with the team and key personnel at Mercedes, including team boss Toto Wolff, Verstappen believes it is inevitable that the seven-time world champion will start to be excluded from meetings.

This is out of fear that he may take key bits of information with him to Ferrari, who Mercedes hope to be challenging for world championship titles in the future.

“For sure he [Hamilton] has a great relationship with everyone, especially Toto, but at one point Toto for sure will tell him, ‘Look, I know we’ve had all this success. But you can’t be part of certain meetings any more,'" Verstappen told media at his Red Bull team's season launch.

"That is normal in F1. It’s probably a bit weird. But you are professional enough to deal with that.

“It’s not like they are suddenly enemies. He has achieved so many great things with them. They are still behind him. It’s just you know at one point you can’t share certain stuff. But once he’s sitting in the car they will of course go flat out for him.”