“But you can’t say to a Lewis Hamilton, ‘we’re finishing this'” : Toto Wolff on the Briton leaving Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton made his move to Ferrari this season, after a decade-long stint with Mercedes, where he managed to win six world championship titles. The Briton has not had the best of starts at Ferrari, currently ranked sixth in the drivers championship, 42 points behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated that Lewis Hamilton made the correct move last season. He believes that like Lewis, even Mercedes needed a change, and had to move on from their star driver. He also explained the rationale behind Lewis’ move to Ferrari, stating that they had been more competitive than Mercedes.
Currently only 12 points separates Ferrari from Mercedes in the Constructors championship, with both Ferrari drivers having a DNF to their name in Netherlands.
“All the reasons he had to go to Ferrari are still valid today,” Wolff told the media. He needed a change of environment, and we needed a change of environment. We weren’t as competitive as we would have wished. Ferrari looked better. Every racing driver wants to race in Ferrari. He likes the colour red anyway. The deal that was on the table was very good,” said Wolff.
“These reasons are still valid today. Now, he’s going against one of the best drivers also, of the younger ones, who’s been in the team for a long time, with a car that drives totally different than ours.“
“We were prepared to take a risk” : Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff also revealed that they were certainly going to sign Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while figuring out the Lewis Hamilton situation the sidelines. However, with Lewis making a decision to leave for Ferrari, made everyone’s life easier.
He also stated that the team would have a hard time moving on from Lewis Hamilton, and he would absolutely dread to have that conversation with him. Lewis Hamilton has achieved the pinnacle of the sport driving for Mercedes, winning six world championship titles in as many as seven seasons, which includes four consecutive titles from 2017-2020.
“We were prepared to take a risk,” Wolff said. “But you can’t say to a Lewis Hamilton, ‘we’re finishing this.’ So, he did it. And that’s how it was meant to be. And that’s the trajectory we’re on today. Very difficult. That would have been a scenario that, for me, from a personal perspective and as Mercedes, would have been something that we would have dreaded to have this conversation,” he added.
