Clearly, we have learned quite a bit recently about the departure of Lewis Hamilton. In the latest episode of the podcast High PerformanceToto Wolff had in fact returned to the departure decided in February of his seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, the Englishman having decided to join Scuderia Ferrari. At the time, the Austrian team boss explained that he had learned about it from Lewis Hamilton just days before the information was released to the world.
If he did not deny his words, Toto this time clarified that he had learned of this information two weeks before, thanks in particular to a certain… Carlos Sainz Sr. “I heard the bells ringing two weeks ago”Wolff said in the latest episode of the podcast High Performance. “Sainz Sr called me and said, ‘This is what’s happening. Then there were a few pilots' fathers who called me even though they hadn't done so before. I told myself something was happening.'”
Wolff regretted the timing of Hamilton's departure
And continue. “I then sent a message to Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, to say: 'Are you taking our driver? » I didn't get a response. This is very unusual of Fred. He's a good friend. So yes, I saw it coming »». In a book published by author Matt Whyman titled « Inside Mercedes F1 : Life in the Fast Lane »Toto Wolff also returned to the episode of Lewis' departure, addressing more of what he himself felt.
Russell and Hamilton, three years of collaboration. ©DPPI
“I fully expected Lewis to leave,” he clarified straight away. “I just didn't understand why he was changing teams before we even knew if we were going to be competitive. That didn't give me time to react, I had to call our partners urgently, and I may have missed negotiations with other drivers who had signed contracts a few weeks earlier, like Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. »
For context, Lewis Hamilton had however extended his contract for two years at Mercedes, just six months before the announcement of his signing at Ferrari. A commitment which we learned was ultimately for one year plus another optional. If a dry two-year deal would have protected him from the departure of his star, Toto Wolff has no regrets on the issue, on the contrary, even…
Hamilton's age in question?
“There’s a reason we only signed a one-year plus contract. We are in a sport where cognitive acuity is extremely important, and I believe everyone has an expiration date.” he said, in comments that should get people talking. Lewis Hamilton will be 40 years old next January, and the Briton, although still very competitive on certain weekends (like at Silverstone this year), is about to be beaten in points for the 2nd time in three years of collaboration by his teammate George Russell.
“So I have to be interested in the next generationcontinues Wolff. It's the same thing in football. Managers like Sir Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola anticipated this in the performances of their best players and brought in junior players who took the team forward for the following years. » he said, referring to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an 18-year-old young man in whom he has placed his trust for 2025.
“I like the situation”added Wolff. “It helps us because it avoids the moment when we have to tell the most emblematic driver in the history of the discipline that we want to stop. » Marketing animal and driver loved by fans, Lewis Hamilton will inevitably be missed by the star brand. The latter will now have to learn to live without the man who joined the adventure in 2013.
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