‘With Hamilton’s late decision I lost the chance for Leclerc, Norris’

In less than two months, Lewis Hamilton’s most successful driver-team partnership with Mercedes comes to an end, the 12-year period that brought the Briton six drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles for his team in 2013-24. Brackley.

So when Lewis Hamilton visited Toto Wolff at his home in Oxford, England at the end of January this year and informed him that in 2025 he would be leaving for the Scuderia, he ended the most successful driver-manager partnership of all time.

With 3 GPs to go before that partnership comes to an end, and Lewis moves to Maranello for the next huge chapter of his illustrious career, this ‘transfer of the century’ for F1 comes to the fore again.

Speaking – in the new book ‘Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane’ – about the way things developed at the start of the year, Toto Wolff said he had the first information about the seven-time F1 champion’s decision at least two weeks ago the 39-year-old announced it in person, and before the “bombshell” of the transfer finally went off on February 1, 2024.

“I definitely had it on my radar that Lewis would be leaving. I just didn’t understand why he was changing teams before we found out if we were going to be competitive (in 2024).”said the Austrian.

And he went on to say that Lewis’ decision cost him the ability to negotiate with drivers he was interested in for Mercedes F1, such as Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris who had just days earlier signed new multi-year contracts with Ferrari and McLaren respectively. .

“He also didn’t give me time to react.” Wolff added. “I had to urgently call our partners, and I probably lost the opportunity to negotiate with other drivers who had signed their new contracts a few weeks earlier, such as Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

This put us at a disadvantage, and had financial consequences. But is it something I take personally? It was a business decision. We have enjoyed such a successful journey together, and now we each have our own goals.

That didn’t affect me one bit. I’m ‘thick-skinned’, you know. I’ve had some really tough times in my life, and this doesn’t compare to those.”added the Austrian.

Following the release of the above book, the Austrian gave some further explanations speaking to the English podcast ‘High Performance’: “I heard the bells ringing two weeks earlier. Yes, Elder Saint called me and told me what was going on. And then the fathers of some of the other drivers started calling me too, who hadn’t called me before. So I thought something was going on here.

I then sent a text message to (her manager Scuderia Ferrari) Fred Wasser and I asked him ‘do you get our guide?’ I didn’t get a reply. This is very unusual from Fred. He is a good friend. So yeah, I saw it coming.” said the Mercedes F1 director.

And of what happened when Lewis went to inform him, he added: “When Lewis got home, as he had for many years past, we first had a talk about winds and waters and Christmas and all that.

Then I told him that ‘we are starting to hire people from Ferrari, we got this guy’ (Simone Resta). And then Lewis said ‘Oh, there’s something I have to tell you’. And when he said it, the first moment was a bit awkward… like you’re thinking ‘is this really happening?’

I’ve had some much harder times in my life to deal with, some real drama and injuries. That doesn’t even move the needle. It’s just a new situation.

It has its risks and its opportunities, risks in terms of how you have to inform the sponsors as soon as possible. Because (the story) started leaking… And on the other hand, what are you doing for next year”.

Speaking finally about Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes F1 after 12 years, Toto Wolff concluded: “I think if someone has decided to leave, then you have to let them go. I had a conversation with Pep Guardiola a long time ago, who is my friend, and I asked him ‘what do you do if this or that player leaves?’

He asked me ‘what do you mean what am I doing?’ I said to him ‘are you trying to get him to stay?’ And he said ‘no, if someone thinks they can play somewhere else better and make more money, then you just have to let them go’. This is something I believe in the same way. If someone wants to leave, let’s make it as good as possible for both sides.”

In yet another of the countless questions he has received on the subject, Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, recently said: “I feel like I’m ending a relationship that’s fine. We are still in love. I didn’t lose faith in the team. I’m leaving for myself.

I had to inform (Wolf) personally because that’s what you have to do for integrity reasons. But I knew it would be difficult. But in the end, as humans, we are hurt when something ends. But I also know that our friendship goes beyond work. That’s how I see it, and I hope that’s the case for Toto as well.”concluded the Briton.