No problem for Mercedes if Hamilton skydives or surfs

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff Friday said he had no problem with star driver Lewis Hamilton's passion for extreme sports, despite the injury risk to such a lucrative asset.

Hamilton's adrenaline-fuelled off-season hobbies, including skydiving, surfing, snowboarding and riding motorbikes, have raised eyebrows in the past. But Wolff said the Briton was an adult and knew what helped him "decompress from racing".

"Of course, I'm always worried and we had a laugh last year because I couldn't get hold of him or my chief strategist or one of the race engineers because they were racing motorbikes," he said.

"But Lewis is not an 18-or 19-year-old young man anymore, he is a five-time world champion and he knows exactly what works for him and what doesn't.

"All these activities in my experience are not a negative distraction but something he enjoys doing and every time he decompresses from racing, he comes back stronger."
"Then once the season starts you're on tour the whole year and you never really lose sight of your targets."