Toto Wolff has revealed the “biggest thing” he learned from Lewis Hamilton during their time together at Mercedes.Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes after 12 years after the 2024 season, one of the most successful F1 relationships in recent memory. The seven-time world champion shocked the world in February when he announced he was moving to Ferrari to partner Charles Leclerc.
The move is likely to be Hamilton’s final in F1, with the Briton aiming for a record eighth world title to add to his career. A Mercedes spokesman said Hamilton has a “very clear” idea of when he wants to retire as he hopes to leave F1 with no regrets.
Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013 and has enjoyed one of the most dominant periods in F1 history. Under Toto Wolff’s leadership, the Briton won six of his seven Silver Arrows titles and became the winningest driver in the sport’s history with the team.
The news of Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari came as a surprise to fans, pundits and Wolff alike. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff sent a message to his friend and rival Frederic Vasseur to ask if the rumors were true. Wolff, who had to accept such big news, also received advice from Manchester City’s technical director Pep Guardiola on how to deal with this process.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Wolff reflected on his years with Hamilton and revealed what the “biggest thing” he learned from the 39-year-old was.
Wolff spoke about how he learned to speak to the seven-time champion, particularly after Hamilton lost the 2016 title to Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. It was these moments that made his relationship with Hamilton “so strong”, Wolff said.
“His constant self-improvement,” he said when asked what the biggest thing he had learned from Hamilton was. “Not just professionally – for him it would be driving, for me it would be team management – but also how he embraces that personal change…”
“We went through a really tough time in 2016 after Nico won the title and we didn’t speak to each other for a few weeks and then he came to my house because I said, ‘We have to talk.’”
“We spent many hours and came away from that conversation before the Christmas party feeling very strong. It laid the foundation for our friendship and relationship for years to come.”
“But what I told him was, ‘We can’t not talk to each other. If something’s bothering you, just pick up the phone and tell me. I promise I’ll do the same.'”
