Wolff’s ‘tears’ over Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes exit…….read more
Mercedes Formula 1 team principal, Toto Wolff, humorously spoke about shedding “tears” over the departure of his star driver, Lewis Hamilton, ahead of the 2025 season. Wolff’s comments came as the 2025 Australian Grand Prix marked the start of a new F1 season, with Wolff still leading the Mercedes team, while Hamilton was making his debut for Ferrari. However, Hamilton’s first race with the Scuderia didn’t go as planned, with the seven-time world champion finishing in a disappointing 10th place.
The news of Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to Ferrari had caught Wolff off guard even before the start of the 2024 season. Hamilton’s announcement to leave Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025 was a major shock, not just to the team, but to the entire F1 world. The revelation sent ripples through the motorsport community, as Hamilton had been an integral part of Mercedes’ success over the past several years, winning multiple championships with the Silver Arrows.
In the lead-up to Hamilton’s competitive debut with Ferrari, a previously unseen clip aired as part of the popular Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive. The footage offered an inside look at the emotional moments when Wolff and Hamilton came to terms with the news of the driver’s departure from Mercedes. The documentary provided fans a rare glimpse into the personal dynamics between the two, capturing their conversation and reactions as Hamilton made the life-changing decision to switch teams after spending over a decade with Mercedes.
For Wolff, the announcement was a significant turning point, not just in terms of losing one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, but also the end of a highly successful partnership that had seen Mercedes dominate the sport for many years. Wolff and Hamilton’s collaboration had been crucial to the team’s success, and losing the British driver, who had played a pivotal role in the team’s championship victories, left Wolff with mixed emotions. Though he acknowledged the disappointment of losing Hamilton, Wolff also took the opportunity to reflect on the lasting impact Hamilton had on Mercedes.
As Hamilton now finds himself with Ferrari, a team with a long and storied history in the sport, it remains to be seen how the seven-time world champion will adapt to his new team and how this shift will affect both Ferrari’s and Mercedes’ fortunes in the coming seasons. Meanwhile, Wolff and Mercedes are left to chart a new path forward, possibly relying on fresh talent to continue their competitive edge in Formula 1.
In a light-hearted manner, Wolff expressed that, despite the sadness of losing such a key figure, he would not let it distract him from his team’s goal of remaining at the top of the sport, with a focus on adapting to the new challenges of the 2025 season.
