The news of Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Italian manufacturer Ferrari in the year 2025 from Mercedes stirred up a storm online and on the track as the seven-time champion dropped the bombshell announcement on Friday.
Following the confirmation of the Brit’s move to the Prancing Horse, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has spoken up about the switch.
“The events are not a surprise, maybe the timing”Toto Wolff speaks for the first time on Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave the team for Ferrari in 2025 pic.twitter.com/pl06qvJOYj
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 2, 2024
“We signed the contract with Lewis, and we opted for a shorter term,” the 52-year-old began.
“So, the events are not a surprise, but maybe the timing,”
“What happened is, we got together for coffee at my place in Oxford and he was returning to the factory,”
“He told me that he had decided to race for Ferrari in 2025,” Wolff explained.
“That was basically it and we had a good 1-hour conversation and this is where we are,” he added.
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The British racer from Stevenage, who joined Mercedes in 2013, enjoyed a massively successful relationship with the Wolff-led side and claimed six of his seven World Championship titles with the Silver Arrows.
Hamilton, the sport’s only black racer has been vocal about activities of inclusion in the sport and has championed the cause using multiple platforms available to him.
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The 39-year-old holds multiple records in the sport, ranging from the most race wins to the most seasons with points scored in every race as he produced something on the board for Mercedes in the years 2017 and 2019, while also holding the record for most seasons finishing every Grand Prix in the very same years.
He has a total of 103 race wins to his name, of which 82 came with the Silver Arrows. He has also managed to claim pole position a whopping 77 times for Mercedes while picking up 93 podium finishes for the Silver Arrows.