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Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team principal Toto Wolff said they were in "no hurry" to find Lewis Hamilton's replacement after the end of the 2024 season of Formula One.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wolff said he was in a hurry when Hamilton signed for Mercedes, adding that this time they don't want to "hurry" and "evaluate the market" properly. "I'm in no hurry for us to take a decision on drivers. I've been rushed in a hurry by Lewis. So, this time around I'm going to take it easy and evaluate the market," Wolff was quoted by Sky Sports as saying. Earlier in January, Ferrari stunned the sporting world by announcing that the seven-time world champion would join the Italian team for the 2025 Formula One season on a multi-year contract. The news brings an end to Hamilton's what is currently a 17-year-long relationship in F1 with Mercedes-Benz and an 11-year-long partnership with the works team. The British F1 driver has won six of seven driver's titles at Mercedes. The 39-year-old signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes last year but activated a release option that allowed him to leave the organization after only one season. Earlier while addressing the media in a virtual briefing, Wolff said that Hamilton's move to Ferrari did not surprise Mercedes, and he has "no grudge" against the seven-time world champion for leaving to join a rival. "When we signed the contract with Lewis, we opted for a shorter term. So the events are not a surprise, maybe the timing. How he framed it to me is perfectly understandable, that he needed a new challenge, that he was looking for a different environment, and that it was maybe the last possibility to do something else," Wolff said. (ANI)
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