The news of Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season has sent shockwaves through the world of Formula 1.
Hamilton’s decision comes as nothing short of a surprise, as the British driver looked set to remain with the Brackley-based squad for the foreseeable future, having signed a contract extension last summer to take him to the end of 2025. However, he exercised a break clause in his contract, shortening his Mercedes stint to make the jump to Ferrari already next year.
Speaking to the media in a virtual session, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed how Hamilton informed him of his decision before the story officially broke.
“How did it all go? Maybe a little bit of context.
“When we signed the contract with Lewis, we opted for a shorter term [deal] and so the events are not a surprise, but maybe the timing is.
“I’d heard the rumours a couple of days earlier but wanted to wait for the breakfast we had planned. It was Wednesday morning and this is when he broke the news.
“What happened is that we got together for a coffee in my place in Oxford and him returning to the factory and he said to me that he has decided to race for Ferrari in 2025.
“In a way, Formula 1 and my previous life have made me resilient to surprises. I’ve been confronted so many times in my life with black swans. But it was a surprise,” he admitted.
“As I said before, we went with open eyes into this contract, into this phase of our relationship. We knew that, maybe, it could be a year, or it could be two.
“We knew that it would come to an end, latest, at the end of 2025.”
Wolff admitted that he didn’t try to change Hamilton’s mind once he was informed of the decision.
“But, with me, you can be very straightforward because I’m straightforward too. So, once he said ‘This is what I’m trying to do’, that was the fact. I didn’t try to convince him otherwise.
“And that was basically it. We had a good hour of conversation and…this is where we are.”
Hamilton spent a fruitful decade at the team, developing a close personal friendship with Wolff in the process.
As for why he may have decided to leave Mercedes so soon after putting pen to paper on an extension deal, Wolff stated that there were no visible signs of discontent on Hamilton’s part and that the pair appeared to be on the same page as recently as December.
“I cannot tell you exactly,” Wolff told the media.
“I only know that we were very aligned when we went into the Christmas period [in] what we said in public and in the team.
“You need to ask Lewis why he changed his mind.”
He conceded that he understands Hamilton’s motivation to make such a sensational switch.
“How he framed it to me is perfectly understandable—that he needed a new challenge, that he was looking for a different environment, and that it was maybe the last possibility to do something else.”
Ferrari’s official statement confirmed that Hamilton had signed a “multi-year deal” with the Italian team, suggesting that the Brit was perhaps looking for a longer term commitment, beyond what Mercedes was prepared to offer.
“We’re big boys. We knew that, by signing a short-term contract, it could be of benefit for both sides,” Wolff said.
“We couldn’t commit for a longer period and he’s taken the option to exit.
“So we totally respect that you can change your mind with different circumstances. Switching to Ferrari, maybe for the last peak in his career, [he’s] maybe rolling the dice a bit. I can follow that decision.”
Asked if Hamilton had lost faith in the project, Wolff insisted that the shock move should not be interpreted as a forecast of Mercedes’s performance in the coming seasons.
“I think what he said is that he felt he needed change, and I can understand that. We have been together, I believe it was 12 years—I don’t know if any other driver has ever been that long with a team.
“We’ve had tremendous success, and we shared the opinion when we decided to sign that short-term contract that there may be opportunities for him and for us.
“Therefore, I think also one of the considerations 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 didn’t talk about whether the opportunity was better there or with us, because I don’t think you can say.”
Wolff reflected on Hamilton’s time with the team, acknowledging his success, but reiterated that the hunger for victories and championships will be no less intense going forward, regardless of the lineup.
“At the end of the day, he is the most successful driver and we’ve had a sensational spell and journey together—that’s something that will go down in the history books and also in the Mercedes history books.
“But we’re the Mercedes Formula 1 team. We’re the best car brand in the world, a team with legacy and we want to finish this on a high in terms of his career. But I can promise you we will build another phase of success—more victories, more world championships in the years to come—and we will be looking back at this very, very good time with Lewis in the Mercedes.”
“(…) But just looking forward to here… what are we doing about communications? What’s the timing? How do we protect the team best, and how do we protect this 2024 year to be successful together with our two drivers without causing too much awkwardness?”
