![\"\"](\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/02\/70x70\/skynews-toto-wolff-lewis-hamilton_6441840.jpg?20240202134834\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says timing of F1 star’s Ferrari decision ‘bit us’ – but insists he holds ‘no grudge’ | UK News<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said the timing of Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave for Ferrari “bit us a bit” – but insists there is “no grudge” between them.<\/p>\n
Wolff said he had heard rumours that Hamilton might quit the team but didn’t know for sure until the F1 great confirmed it in a meeting over breakfast on Wednesday at Wolff’s home in Oxford.<\/p>\n
The British driver is leaving Mercedes at the end of the upcoming season<\/strong> to join Ferrari for 2025 in a move announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n The Austrian told reporters that Hamilton<\/strong>‘s decision had come too late for them to look at some obvious contenders to replace him, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc signing new contracts last month.<\/p>\n “The timing bit us a bit,” he said.<\/p>\n Hamilton, from Stevenage, has raced for Mercedes since 2013 and won six of his seven world titles with the team.<\/p>\n “The surprise was that I’ve heard the rumours a couple of days earlier but wanted to wait for the breakfast we had planned, and it was Wednesday morning, and this is when he broke the news,” Wolff said.<\/p>\n “But, you know, you can be very straightforward with me because I’m very 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.”<\/p>\n Wolff added that he still considers Hamilton a friend. “In the future, we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way or not, but I hold no grudge.”<\/p>\n In a glimpse into the shock within the wider Mercedes team, Wolff said Hamilton’s long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington – known as “Bono” in their conversations over the radio during races – replied “Is it April 1?” when told Hamilton would leave.<\/p>\n Hamilton only finalised a two-year extension with Mercedes at the end of August but is activating a release clause that allows him to leave after a year.<\/p>\n Wolff said the fact Hamilton was seeking a new challenge wasn’t a surprise but the timing was.<\/p>\n He suggested Hamilton might be “rolling the dice” as the 39-year-old driver seeks another shot at what would be his eighth F1 title.<\/p>\n “We knew that by signing a short-term contract, it could be of benefit for both sides. We couldn’t commit for a longer period and he is taking the option to exit. We totally respect that you can change your mind, it’s different circumstances,” he said.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong>
Analysis: Hamilton has the chance to do something extraordinary<\/strong><\/p>\n