F1 News
Hamilton recalls "terrifying" meeting with Wolff about Ferrari deal
Lewis Hamilton claimed he was "terrified" to inform his Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, about signing a deal with Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season. The seven-time World Champion has a long-term working relationship with Wolff that will end in just a few months.
Hamilton has been linked to Mercedes in one way or another for most of his motorsport career. He started in F1 with McLaren, which was powered by Mercedes, and then moved to the works team for the 2013 season. He has been with the German team ever since. In fact, Hamilton has completed all 350 Grands Prix with one single engine manufacturer. Kimi Raikkonen, with Ferrari, is the next best on the Grands Prix with the same engine manufacturer's all-time list, but he is still over 100 races behind.
Hamilton will jump ship when the 2024 season comes to a conclusion. Before the season even started, Hamilton and Ferrari confirmed their deal. A rumour emerged during the winter break that a deal had been made, which was confirmed shortly after. Speaking to The Times, Hamilton recalled his meeting with Wolff to inform him of the deal.
“It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions from the moment I signed the contract —telling my boss, that was terrifying," Hamilton said. "But it is so exciting because I remember as a kid watching Michael [Schumacher]. Every driver watches that car and you’re like, ‘What would it be like to sit in the red cockpit?’”
How did Hamilton inform Wolff about Ferrari?
But perhaps Hamilton didn't have much to worry about. During an interview with the media, Wolff addressed his star driver's farewell two days after a joint breakfast when Hamilton told him about the deal. He said it wasn't a surprise to him. "Once he said this is what I’m trying to do, that was the fact, I didn’t try to convince him otherwise," Wolff recalled the meeting himself earlier in the year.
"[It's] a new challenge, looking for a different environment, and maybe the last possibility to do something else. 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 longer period. And he’s taken the option to exit. Totally respect that you can change your mind, it’s different to circumstances, and switching to Ferrari for maybe the last gig, maybe rolling the dice a bit, I can follow that decision. The events are not a surprise, but maybe the timing," Wolff said in February.