The transfer of the century. That’s how it was labeled. Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari caused quite a stir, but according to Ivan Capelli, there’s a name behind the initial “leak.”
In addition to surprising with the move itself, the arrival of the seven-time world champion in Maranello was also astonishing in terms of timing. An official announcement that seemed to have been “forced” by an unexpected leak.
The “mole” is Toto Wolff
In an interview with the Italian daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, former F1 driver Ivan Capelli revealed that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is behind the premature announcement of Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari.
“It was a move by Toto Wolff against Lewis Hamilton and Scuderia Ferrari. He spoiled an announcement that was supposed to be made during the season,” explained the former F1 driver and current member of the Sky Motorsports team.
Certainly, an official announcement during the season would have been more “normal” than the timing it came with. An announcement of this magnitude a few days before the car presentations is hard to believe it was planned.
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Fred Vasseur also weighed in on the matter, cutting short any discussion. “We decided to formalize the operation before the start of the season to avoid distractions.”
Lewis Hamilton’s choice surely did not sit well with Toto Wolff, who may have acted out of “revenge.” Mercedes now needs to intervene in the driver market to find a worthy replacement for the seven-time world champion. Many names are circulating. The one that seems to make the most noise is Fernando Alonso. The possibility of Sebastian Vettel making a return to F1 is not ruled out either. However, Mercedes is not in a hurry, and they will announce the decision during the season, probably as Ferrari would have wanted to do.
Source: f1ingenerale
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