Wolff: I don’t blame Lewis for rolling dice with Ferrari
Toto Wolff has admitted his surprise that lewis Hamilton decided to leave Mercedes to see out his career at ferrari, news that his star driver broke to him over breakfast at his home in oxford.
The move, which added £5billion to the value of ferrari, comes after the 39-year- old signed a two-year deal to remain at the Silver Arrows only in August.
There was a get- out clause in the contract and he will join ferrari in 2025 for £40million-plus on a multi-year deal.
Wolff, who claims he holds no grudge over the startling news, said: ‘He felt he needed a change and I can understand that.
‘ We have had tremendous success. We shared the opinion when we decided to sign a shortterm contract that there may be opportunities for him and for us.
‘ Maybe one consideration was the opportunity to sign a longer-term contract with ferrari and give it a really big go at the end of his career.
‘ We have had a sensational journey together that will go down in the history books. We want to finish on a high in terms of his Mercedes career but we will build another phase of success — and we will look back on this very good time with lewis.
‘We got together for coffee at my place in oxford. He said to me he had decided to race for ferrari in 2025 and that was basically it. We had a good hour of conversation.
‘Formula one has made me resilient to surprises. But it was a surprise. once he said, “this is what I’m trying to do”, that was the fact. I didn’t try to convince him otherwise.
‘It means that our professional journey comes to an end but it doesn’t mean our personal relationship ends. I have found a friend. We have built a relationship over the past 10 years.
‘ He faced a very difficult situation. Maybe for the first time in 10 years, he was not able to brainstorm with me. I will always respect the difficult situation he faced. In the future, we can discuss whether this could have been done in a different way or not, but I will hold no grudge.’
Hamilton has not added to his 103 race wins since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021, while Max Verstappen has dominated the sport, adding three world titles to his c.v.
Wolff added: ‘He needed a new challenge. He was looking for a different environment and it was maybe a last possibility to do something else. Switching to ferrari, maybe rolling the dice a bit, I can follow that decision.
‘The friend side of me says he should have an eighth title because that was taken away from him. If he wins that in 2024, that would be a great thing. But going forward, I would rather we win.’
George Russell is now Mercedes’ de facto No 1, as Wolff casts around for Hamilton’s replacement.