Toto Wolff claims Lewis Hamilton’s late call to join
Ferrari left him unable to negotiate with other drivers such as Ferrari’s
Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
News of contract extensions for both Norris and Leclerc
before the season was quickly upstaged by the bombshell that Hamilton would
depart Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025 and Wolff believes that delay prevented him
from poaching a rival.
Toto Wolff reveals missed chance to approach Lando Norris
and Charles Leclerc
Hamilton’s departure was confirmed on February 1, just a
day after he met with Wolff at the latter’s Oxford home to inform of his
decision, but just a few days earlier, news of both Leclerc and Norris signing
extensions was made public and Wolff believes he missed a chance to try and
tempt them to Brackley.
“I absolutely had it on my radar that Lewis would go,”
Wolff said in the new book Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane.
“I just couldn’t understand why he’d change to another team before we knew if
we were going to be competitive.
“It also didn’t give me any time to react,’ he continues.
‘I had to emergency call our partners, and I possibly missed out on negotiating
with other drivers who had signed contracts a few weeks earlier like Charles
Leclerc and Lando Norris.
“It put us on the back foot, and that had a commercial
impact. But do I take that personally? This was a business decision.
“We’ve enjoyed such a successful journey together, and
now we have our own objectives. This didn’t even move the needle for me. I’m
thick-skinned, you know? I’ve had some pretty tough moments in my life, and
this doesn’t compare.”
For Hamilton, he described it as feeling like he was “ending a relationship”
but insisted he still loved the team.
“I feel like I’m ending a relationship that’s perfectly
fine,” the 39-year-old said.
“We’re still in love. I haven’t lost faith in the team. I’m
leaving for myself.”
The decision also meant having to tell Wolff in person and Hamilton said he hoped his relationship with the Austrian would survive even after he moved to Maranello.
