Sainz’s father warned Wolff about Hamilton’s move to Ferrari!
Toto Wolff has revealed how he managed the process after receiving a tip two weeks before he officially learned that Lewis Hamilton would be joining Ferrari.Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has revealed the story of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari and how he received his first hint two weeks ago from Carlos Sainz Sr.
Hamilton said during a visit to Wolff’s home in late January that he would activate the exit clause in his Mercedes contract and join Ferrari for the 2025 season.
However, while Hamilton’s statement is the first official confirmation Wolff has received on the subject, he explained how he has been aware of the possibility for some time.
Speaking to the High Performance podcast, Wolff said he first got a call from Sainz Sr., the father of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who will replace Hamilton, and learned that something was afoot.
“I mean, I heard the bells ringing two weeks in advance,” Wolff said of the process.
“Yes, Sainz Sr. called me and said that’s what happened.”
“Then other pilots’ fathers started calling me, they normally wouldn’t. I said, ‘Okay, something’s going on here.'”
“Then I sent a message to Fred Vasseur, ‘Are you taking our pilot?’ I didn’t get a response. That’s very unusual for Fred. He’s a good friend of mine. So yeah, I knew it was coming,” he recounted.
Wolff also revealed that he made an interesting start to the conversation because he was suspicious of Hamilton coming to his house and surprised the British pilot by saying that Mercedes had reached an agreement with former Ferrari chief designer Simone Resta.”When Lewis came, we had the usual holiday chats and then I said, ‘We’ve hired someone from Ferrari.’ Lewis said, ‘I have to tell you something,’ and that’s when I thought, ‘Is this really happening?'” Wolff added.
The announcement of Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was one of the biggest surprises in F1 history, but Wolff said he had managed the situation calmly, adding: “I’ve been in worse situations in my life, this is not even a crisis.”
“This is just a new situation and it does come with risks and opportunities. It was important to try to prevent this news from leaking and to notify sponsors quickly.”
“On the other hand, I started thinking about what we are going to do next year.”
Wolff also made it clear that he had no intention of trying to persuade Hamilton to change his mind, adding:
“I think if someone decides to leave, you have to let them go,”
“A long time ago I had a conversation with my friend Pep Guardiola. I asked him, ‘What would you do if this or that player left?’ He said, ‘What do you mean, what would I do?’ I said, ‘Would you try to persuade them to stay?’”
“He said, ‘No, if someone thinks they can play better somewhere else or win more, you should let them go.’ That’s something I embrace here as well. If someone wants to go, we have to make it as good as possible for both sides.”
