The F1 fans are still reeling from Lewis Hamilton’s sudden leap of faith to Ferrari for the 2025 season. Lewis Hamilton abruptly exercised his exit clause from a two-year extension contract with Mercedes to move to Maranello. He not only stumped the fans but also his former team with his shocking decision.
Apparently, Mercedes caught the wind of Lewis Hamilton’s sudden change of heart just a few hours before the official announcement. The employees were briefed on Thursday afternoon. And by evening, both Mercedes and Ferrari issue an official statement. Amid the drama, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff opened up on his first reaction to Hamilton’s bombshell revelation.
Toto Wolff Blindsided By Lewis Hamilton Over Switch To Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton made a historic switch to Ferrari for the 2025 season earlier this week. He cut ties with Mercedes after 11 years, where he won six championships and rewrote history books of the sports. However, something changed over the winter, which drove Hamilton to the extreme step. Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff faced the press 24 hours after the official announcement and shed light on his initial reaction. Wolff said that even though he is immune to surprises, Lewis shocked him this time around. Wolff revealed that he had heard rumors about Hamilton’s plans to switch to Ferrari. However, he chose to wait till their scheduled annual meeting on 31st January for a confrontation. Wolff claimed Lewis broke him the news about his future endeavors just a day before.
Apparently, Toto Wolff was surprised by the timing of Lewis Hamilton’s ultimate decision to ditch Mercedes. He said since the team signed a short-term contract, he anticipated the Briton to leave sometime in the future. But for Lewis Hamilton to part ways before the two-year extension kicked in baffled the team principal. Having said that, Wolff insists he holds no grudge against Hamilton. Though they professionally parted ways, he found a friend in Lewis, and that relationship will always stay the same off the track. Also, the Austrian added that he completely understands the British driver’s mindset. In the last stretch of his F1 career, he wanted to fulfill his desires and dreams, which is completely natural. “I will always respect the difficulty of the situation that he faced. And in the future, we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way or not,” said Wolff.
Did Mercedes Board Push Hamilton Off The Cliff?
Meanwhile, fresh reports suggest that it was not Toto Wolff but the Mercedes board that drove Lewis Hamilton away. Apparently, Wolff was ready to sign a contract extended by two years. However, his superiors on the board refused to entertain the idea. They wanted to leave the gate open for Lewis to leave.
It is presumed that the Mercedes board was afraid of Lewis Hamilton quitting mid-way if the car didn’t meet his standards. They feared the British driver could emulate what Nico Rosberg did in 2016. Thus, they chose to stall the three-year contract negotiations and instead settled with a 1+1 deal.
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