Everyone was taken by surprise when it was announced at the dawn of the 2024 season that after 12 years Lewis Hamilton would leave Mercedes and become a Ferrari driver from the following year. Even his team was not prepared for the transfer of the seven-time world champion, knowing that he signed his contract extension just five months earlier.
Ahead of their last races together, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff in a new book is Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast LaneIn , he not only revealed details about the background to the bombshell news, such as the fact that he learned about the turn from Carlos Sainz’s father, but also hinted that Hamilton is even doing a favor by changing teams.
“It was on my radar that Lewis would leave,” Wolff was quoted as saying by the Sky Sports F1. “I just didn’t understand why he would switch to another team before we knew if we were even going to be competitive. I didn’t even have time to react, as I had to urgently call the partners, and it’s likely that I missed out on competitors who signed a few weeks earlier,” said the Austrian Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris about the contract extension.
In time, Hamilton should have left Mercedes – this is not what we are saying, but Toto Wolff. (Photo: Peter Fox/Formula 1/Getty Images)
“Still, we like the situation, it even helps us, because it avoids the moment when we have to tell the most iconic driver of the championship ever that we want to stop working together,” stated Wolff.
He also explained that there was a reason they decided in 2023 not to extend Hamilton’s agreement for a long term, considering that the Briton will be 40 years old in January 2025.
“There is a reason that we only signed a 1+1 year contract. It’s a sport where cognitive acuity is extremely important, and I think everyone has a warranty period,” he explained.
Wolff added, “I have to look at the next generation”, accordingly, Mercedes did not rush to choose Hamilton’s successor. Finally, it was only announced in September that from 2025, the team’s protégé, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, coming from Formula 2, will be George Russell’s teammate.
Source: www.vezess.hu
