Lewis Hamilton has criticised Red Bull for threatening to quit F1, telling the four-time world champions to work hard to be successful again.
Red Bull has been unhappy at a lack of progress from power units supplier Renault, ending its partnership a year early. With no engine deal in place for next season, owner Dietrich Mateschitz says he will pull out of the sport if he does not secure a competitive power unit by the end of October, but Hamilton says the team is showing the wrong attitude.
"It seems really odd for me having witnessed Red Bull’s success and then the moment they don’t have success they are upset about it,” Hamilton said. “I’ve not seen that with any other team. Growing up watching F1, I never knew of Ferrari losing the championship after success, then complaining the next year.
"Teams need to keep pushing forward. They have no reason to give up - they have great drivers, great pedigree, incredible success and still have a pretty awesome car. All those people that have jobs, getting rid of those people through something that isn’t the ‘biggest thing’ … they can still have success, they just have to work hard at it.”
With Mercedes able to secure a second consecutive constructors' championship in Russia this weekend, Hamilton says the team's achievements should not be underestimated.
"I think people take for granted what an amazing job a team can do. It doesn’t have to be F1, it can be a business or anywhere but the one thing I get to see is how on point every individual has been in this team since I joined. For them to see the fruits of their labour in the last couple of years… it is very easy for a team to have the success they had last year and drop the ball the next year and get complacent.
"This team continues to power through and every individual in this team wants to do this job to the best of their ability and push the boundaries. We are at a weekend like this where we are fighting for the world championship and are able to say we are the best. They can go back to their kids and say ‘I built the best car’ and we are the best team, which is what everyone wants.
"I am very privileged to be a part of it. I honestly felt that when I decided to come to this team that we would have this… I didn’t know at which point, but I am very grateful that I came."
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