Wolff fears huge impact with Hamilton's departure: 'Global phenomenon'
Mercedes AMG-Petronas F1 Team
F1 News
Toto Wolff fears that the impact of Lewis Hamilton's imminent departure on Mercedes will be significant, including on the business side of the Formula 1 team. Interest from sponsors may decrease in 2025, but the team boss stresses that Mercedes will retain their own identity.
Wolff fears big impact with Hamilton's departure
First of all, Wolff stresses that Mercedes are not going to change hugely after Hamilton made his Ferrari announcement. Although it seemed in the past that Wolff and Hamilton's fates were linked, the 52-year-old Austrian has no intention of leaving either. Moreover, he recently signed a multi-year contract extension, as did technical director James Allison.
"The team – we continue to be the same shareholders, I continue to run it," he said. "George Russell who was basically going toe to toe with Lewis last year. So you know, you just got to adapt. Our sport is about adaptability, like in any other business, and that’s something that’s the lessons that I’ve tried to pass over when talking about high performance and management under pressure," Wolff told CNBC.
However, Wolff does think Hamilton's departure will have a big impact on the team's commercial side, including merchandise sales. "Absolutely, Lewis stands for much more than just a racing driver. And he’s a global phenomenon," Wolff explained.
"You’re going to miss that part. But the Formula One team like Mercedes, we need to have our own identity and we always will have in the future. We hope to be part of the career of many young drivers and successful drivers going forward. And we will look back with a warm heart of how fantastic that journey was, and how we’ve grown together," Wolff concluded.