Toto Wolff revealed an interesting backstory regarding Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari after leaving Mercedes, and the futures of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. The Austrian team principal explained that the seven-time world champion’s decision was quite unexpected.
Hamilton’s surprise apparently did not allow Toto Wolff to look around. The “immediate” choice by the British driver left the team principal with no time to contact other drivers who might have been capable of replacing him.
Toto Wolff and his interest in Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris: the curious backstory
“I expected that sooner or later Lewis Hamilton would leave us, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. This way, he didn’t give me the chance to talk with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, whom I could have brought here to Mercedes, but they had just renewed their respective contracts. I didn’t even get a chance to try.” These are Toto Wolff’s words in the new book *Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane*.
“I knew he would leave eventually; I just didn’t expect such tight timing. I thought he would first evaluate how the car performed and whether it would be competitive. But the season hadn’t even started, so I couldn’t have known that his decision would come so quickly,” he added.
But, of course, there is no resentment. “He put us in a tough spot, and this had a commercial impact. But should I take it personally? This was a business decision, it’s not about our personal lives. We won so much together, and at a certain point, these things can happen.”
Lewis Hamilton, nonetheless, did not fail to renew his affection for Mercedes, the team that made him the most successful driver of all time. In the end, it will be a parting, but without any hard feelings from either side. And perhaps Scuderia Ferrari has one more reason to thank Lewis Hamilton even before he arrives…
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