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American Executive, Toto Wolff said that Lewis 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.
On Thursday, Ferrari stunned the sporting world by announcing that the seven-time world champion will 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. Addressing the media in a virtual briefing on Friday, Mercedes team chief Wolff stated that the structure of the arrangement with Hamilton, which contained a break option after the 2024 season, had given him little doubt that what would be a 12-year association was coming to an end. "When we signed the contract with Lewis, we opted for a shorter term. So the events are not a surprise, maybe the timing," Wolff said as quoted by Skysports. Talking about what had changed since the last Mercedes contract was announced, Wolff said, "I cannot tell you exactly. We were very aligned when we went into the Christmas period and I think we've said that in public and in the team. You need to ask Lewis why he changed his mind." "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," Mercedes team chief added. Hamilton 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. "We're big boys. We knew that by signing a short-term contract it could be of benefit for both sides. We couldn't commit for a long period and he's taken the option to exit. We totally respect that you can change your mind, there are different circumstances. And switching for Ferrari maybe for the last bit of his career, maybe rolling the dice a little bit - I can follow that decision," Wolff said. "Clearly the timing was surprising to us. But I guess what he tried to do is maybe to give us a long time to decide what we want to do next year going forward," he added. Wolff, who has built a strong relationship with Hamilton over their time working together, is adamant that the friendship will last and that "no grudge" is carried. Mercedes team chief stated that Hamilton informed him of his choice during breakfast at the Austrian's house on Wednesday. "When he told me first, my next thought was pragmatic. What does it mean? When are we communicating this? What are the pressure points? How are we managing it this season going forward? And what is it we're going to do in terms of driver line-up? The team's mind kicked in," he added. "Now having slept a few nights on it, it means that our professional journey comes to an end, working together, but it doesn't mean that our personal relationship ends. I've found a friend, we've built a relationship over the last 10 years," Wolff said. "He faced a very, very difficult situation, taking a decision of where to drive, maybe for the first time in 10 years without being able to brainstorm with me. Therefore, I will always respect the difficulty of the situation that he faced. In the future, we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way or not, but I hold no grudge," the Mercedes team chief said. (ANI)
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