Wolff: I was not surprised by Lewis’s decision to join Ferrari

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admitted he was not surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari. However, Toto added that he was surprised that the seven-time world champion decided to announce this a year before the actual transfer.

Toto Wolff: “When we re-signed the contract with Lewis, we opted for a short period, so from this point of view I was not surprised by the latest events, but by the timing chosen.

What happened was we had coffee together at my house in Oxford when Lewis returned to the team base this week. And then he told me that he had decided to drive for Ferrari in 2025. Afterwards we had a good conversation for an hour.

I knew Lewis could leave within a year or at the latest by the end of 2025. But the rumors that reached me a few days ago were unexpected. However, I wanted to wait until breakfast scheduled for Wednesday morning. Then he told me the news.

Lewis knows he can be honest with me, and I can be just as candid with him. So when he told me about his plans, I tried not to discourage him. I don’t know what exactly was behind his decision, but I do know that before the Christmas holidays we were united and talked about it both publicly and as a team. You’d better ask Lewis why he changed his mind.

I understand the motive he formulated: he needed a new challenge, he was looking for a change of scenery and maybe this is the last chance for him.

We are already adults and understood that signing a short-term contract could be mutually beneficial. We were unable to sign Lewis for a longer period and he exercised his option to leave.

Every racer dreams of driving a red car. Lewis and I have discussed several times that he might be interested in it one day, but over the years we have come to the conclusion that staying at Mercedes and leaving a legacy with this team is a source of is proud.

But I never ignored the possibility of change, whether he moved to Ferrari or to another team. His decision did not surprise me; rather, the moment he took it surprised me. “I understand why he decided to do this, and I have to protect the interests of the team.”