In October this year, senior Mercedes figure, Mike Elliott left the team, and Lewis Hamilton made sure to clarify that it had nothing to do with him.
With the eight-time Constructors' World Champions winning only one race over the past two seasons, some changes had to be made in the team, and one of them was the departure of technical director Mike Elliott.
Soon after that, rumors started circling that Hamilton may have been involved in Elliott's departure, as the British driver seems to be more involved in the team's running than before.
However, in a recent interview with BBC, the seven-time World Champion said that it's important for him to say that he had nothing to do with Elliott's departure, saying that the two knew each other since he was driving for McLaren.
"It's important for people to know that I wasn't part of Mike's departure. I've known Mike since I was at McLaren. I had a great relationship with Mike. I was always in awe of him, because he's so smart and I was learning so much from him."
The third driver in the 2023 Formula One World Drivers' Championship admitted that he's aware of the talks that a failed season may be fault of one person, but he has denied such narrative.
"It's always difficult for someone in his position. It often falls on them, but it's collective. It's not just one person. Unfortunately, there are people that maybe from the outside would be like: 'It's one person's fault.'"
With the 2023 season behind him, Hamilton will turn focus to the 2024 season, which he will hope will be more successful than his previous two, as he's yet to record a race win in F1 since 2021, when he fought for his eighth championship, eventually missing one lap to complete the legendary feat.
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