‘I was terrified when I went to tell Toto Wolff about Ferrari’

The Briton, at this meeting, would inform the Mercedes F1 director that he had taken the option left by his new contract with the Brackley team to break it after the first year, i.e. at the end of 2024, so that the next leave for Maranello.

The decision would end his 12-year stint at Brackley, and his association dating back to his McLaren days with Mercedes engines in the previous six years – before his move to the German company’s factory team in 2013.

It would end a run that brought Lewis six world drivers’ championships and eight consecutive constructors’ titles for Mercedes F1, and also a run where he and Wolff had formed the most successful driver-manager duo in the sport’s history.

The specific meeting between Lewis and Wolff took place 36 hours before the official announcements initially by Mercedes and a few hours later by Ferrari, on February 1, 2024, for the so-called “transfer of the century”.

“There was a constant exchange of emotions from the moment I signed the contract (with Ferrari) – and telling my boss was terrifying“said the Briton in his long interview with the Times of London. “But it’s also something very exciting. I remember when I was a kid watching Michael (Schumacher).

Every driver notices that particular car, and when you see it you think ‘what would it be like if I was sitting in the red cockpit?’”Lewis added.

No one, apart from Hamilton and Wolff himself, knows what the Austrian’s reaction was to hearing the news from Lewis. But the Mercedes F1 director knew very well that he had left in the team’s new contract with Hamilton the option for the Briton to leave for 2025.

Also, as the Austrian himself revealed in the days following the official announcements, he had heard relevant rumors “a day or two earlier” but wanted to wait for Lewis to inform him in person.

Speaking to the media a few days after the “bombshell” transfer, Wolff appeared condescending: “Once he told me what he wanted to do, and that it was now a given, I didn’t try to convince him otherwise”the Austrian had said last February.

“It’s a new challenge, he’s looking for a new environment, and it might be his last chance to do something different. We are big kids. We knew that signing him to a short-term contract was to the benefit of both sides. We would not commit to a longer period.

And he took the option to leave. I totally respect that you can change your mind depending on the circumstances. That he passed on Ferrari perhaps for his last period (in F1), that he rolled the dice, is a decision I accept. It’s not a surprise to me, maybe just the timing.”Wolf had added at the time.

Although the matter, however, has died down since the days of the big announcement, the swings of feeling about Lewis continue. One of them happened at the end of August, when Mercedes officially announced that the only 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli will succeed him in the cockpit of the team next year.

“I knew it for a long time”Lewis said after confirming his replacement by the young Italian. “I also knew that the announcement would be made this morning. I woke up in the morning and it was very, very surreal that the driver announcement would be made in the position I’ve held for so long.

So, it was very emotional that morning, but I’m honestly very happy for Kimi and the team – I know Kimi will do a great job.”.

Finally, when asked if his emotions become more intense as the races pass and his life with Mercedes F1 comes to an end, he added: “This happens all year round. Every race I go to. I love this team so much. We’ve been through so much together, so I feel emotionally charged at every match.

Because every race is the last time we are together on that track. Leaving Monza, I was thinking that this was the last European race for this year. The last time I will be in the place (of the Mercedes motorhome) that has been my home for the last 12 years.

And with each race we are getting closer and closer to the last moment I will be in her car Mercedes. It will be difficult, but I am committed to doing the best job I can for the team and to reach a happy ending.

This is such a unique moment in my life, one that still evokes many emotions. What I feel mostly is pride and gratitude. The memories will last forever, as will the memories I will make next year.”Lewis Hamilton concluded.