'I hold no grudge': Mercedes chief Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton's shock Ferrari exit

Words by ITV News Sports Producer Joe Wardropper

Lewis Hamilton informed Mercedes he was leaving to join rivals Ferrari the day before the shock news was announced to the world, team principal Toto Wolff has revealed. 

The 52-year-old Austrian said he bore no grudge against the seven-time world champion but admitted that "if you told me two days ago that Lewis was going to Ferrari, I wouldn’t have believed it."

Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013, the same year as Wolff, and the pair have enjoyed a close relationship, but the 39-year-old driver has not won a race since losing out to Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the final grand prix of the 2021 world championship.

Speaking for the first time since announcing Hamilton’s departure, Wolff said he broke the news to him in person during a breakfast meeting at the team boss’ home in Oxford on Wednesday.

"We had a good hour of conversation… He said he has decided to race for Ferrari in 2025, and that was basically it,' Wolff said.

"With me you can be very straightforward, when he said this was the fact, I didn’t try and convince him otherwise."

Wolff maintained that his friendship with Hamilton would survive the end of their racing partnership, and that he had no reason to doubt his integrity.

"In the future we will discuss whether this could have been handled in another way, but I hold no grudge," he said.

Asked why Hamilton had left Mercedes months after signing a new contract, Wolff said: "I cannot tell you exactly what changed, I can only say we were very aligned going into the Christmas period… You need to ask Lewis why he changed his mind?"

But Wolff said he understood Hamilton’s decision to make a change, acknowledging that, "every driver dreams of being in the red overalls, the red car (of Ferrari)."

The Mercedes boss also admitted that the odds were against his team in the competition against Red Bull in Hamilton’s final season with Mercedes.

Questioned about his hopes for Hamilton’s future, Wolff said: "There is the friend side in me that says he should have an eighth (title) because that was taken away from him, so if he wins that in 2024 that would be a great thing, but going forward I would rather us winning."

Ferrari confirmed Hamilton’s signing on a multiyear contract in a terse statement released on Thursday. 

The most storied and successful racing team in motorsport history, Ferrari has nevertheless failed to win a driver’s title since 2007, meaning Hamilton is not guaranteed championship success.

The company’s share price soared by more than 10% on Thursday in response to the news. 

Hamilton will begin his final campaign with Mercedes when the Formula 1 season begins in Bahrain in March.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...