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Toto Wolff says he is “at peace” with Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes, and discusses possible reasons why he decided to exit the team.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was asked how his relationship with Lewis Hamilton has changed over the past eleven years that they have been working together.
“Things have changed,” the Austrian said.
“I think when we both started in 2012 we didn’t know what to expect from each other. He was a world champion, a superstar even back then, and I was fairly new to the business, although I wouldn’t say ‘green’ as a professional, since I had a 20-year career under my belt.
“But over the years, the relationship grew stronger. I’m not sure Lewis is a very trusting person, but he has learned to trust and I have given him examples that he can trust me. And I learned to trust him too.
“I think we’ve learned to trust each other, which is an important word: trust. We have done it through the good and the bad. So I’m at peace with his decision.”
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Toto then gave his thoughts on why he think Lewis made the decision to leave the team.
“I understand that our team was not performing that well and that played a big role. Maybe he was sceptical about whether we could recover.
“I understand that sometimes maybe you just need a different environment after so many years… It’s the longest driver-team relationship that exists as far as I know.
“I think he will have an attractive compensation package, that there will be quite a bit of interest when he puts on the red suit for the first time and drives the red car.
“But then it will come down to team performance and driver performance and it will be business as usual – just dressed in a different colour,” Wolff concluded.
