Toto Wolff: Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes exit was ‘not a surprise’ as Brit joints Ferrari – ‘I hold no grudge’

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed that Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari in 2025 was “not a surprise” but suggested the timing was.

Although the statement move came as a shock to everyone else in the world of sport, Wolff said that the 39-year-old’s decision to leave Mercedes did not surprise him.

“When we signed the contract with Lewis, we opted for a shorter term [deal]. So the events are not a surprise, maybe the timing,” Wolff said.

Hamilton signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes last summer and Wolff is unsure why the Brit changed his mind when only a couple of months ago he was committed to Mercedes.

“I cannot tell you exactly [what has changed],” Wolff explained. “We were very aligned when we went into the Christmas period and I think we’ve said that in public and in the team. You need to ask Lewis why he changed his mind.

“How he framed it to me is perfectly understandable, that he needed a new challenge, that he was looking for a different environment, and that it was maybe the last possibility to do something else.”

Wolff added: “We’re big boys. We knew that by signing a short-term contract it could be of benefit for both sides. We couldn’t commit for a long period and he’s taken the option to exit.

“We totally respect that you can change your mind, there are different circumstances. And switching for Ferrari maybe for the last bit of his career, maybe rolling the dice a little bit – I can follow that decision.

“Clearly the timing was surprising to us. But I guess what he tried to do is maybe to give us a long time to decide what we want to do next year going forward.”

Wolff explained that the reason that Mercedes decided not to commit to Hamilton in the long term is because an “exciting situation” is evolving in the driver’s market.

The Australian has hinted in the past that he would be interested in bringing in McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferarri’s Charles Leclerc, who both recently signed contract extensions.

“When we decided, Lewis and us, to go for a very short-term contract, we knew why we were doing it,” he said. “And it was to leave him options open and at the same time, us.

“There’s an exciting situation at the end of 2024 with some drivers becoming available.

“Others just signed a few weeks ago – so these ones would have been opportunities. So that timing, if it would have been six weeks earlier, there would have been more opportunities, but it is what it is.”

Hamilton won six of his seven driver’s titles at Mercedes after joining the team from McLaren in 2013.

Having joined in the same year, Wolff oversaw all of Hamilton’s success at Mercedes and admitted to developing a close relationship with the driver over the past decade.

Wolff said he holds no grudges towards Hamilton as they enter their final year together.

“When he told me first, my next thought was pragmatic. What does it mean? When are we communicating this? What are the pressure points? How are we managing it this season going forward? And what is it we’re going to do in terms of driver line-up? The team’s mind kicked in.

“Now having slept a few nights on it, it means that our professional journey comes to an end, working together, but it doesn’t mean that our personal relationship ends. I’ve found a friend, we’ve built a relationship over the last 10 years.

“He faced a very, very difficult situation, taking a decision of where to drive, maybe for the first time in 10 years without being able to brainstorm with me. Therefore, I will always respect the difficulty of the situation that he faced.

“In the future, we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way or not, but I hold no grudge.”

Hamilton has the joint-most F1 championship medals alongside former Ferarri and Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher.

Hopes of a record eighth championship title are quickly fading for Hamilton, ever since Max Verstappen began to dominate the track three years ago.

The Dutch driver pipped Hamilton in a controversial final race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021 to win his first title and deny the Englishman of his record-breaking achievement.

Despite the friendship Hamilton and Wolff have built over the years, the Mercedes team principal said he would prefer his team to win the title than see Hamilton win an eighth with Ferrari.