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Toto Wolff says Mercedes “didn’t anticipate” Lewis Hamilton’s exit, but now “it’s absolutely fine on a human level and it’s also in the professional terms”.
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in 2025 came as a surprise to everybody.
After Lewis signed a two-year extension with Mercedes (which was later revealed to be a 1+1 deal), it was expected that he would drive for the team at least until the end of 2025.
However, Lewis decided to end the deal after one year and he will now be leaving the team at the end of 2024.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admits the news came as a surprise for him.
“It surprised me a lot,” the Austrian said.
“We went on holiday thinking he would stay, even if the 1-plus-1 contract allowed him to free himself. I was surprised, but that’s how it went.”
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However, Toto says this did not change the relationship he has with Lewis.
“I think you know when the news broke clearly it is a new situation.
“It’s somewhat something that we didn’t anticipate happening at that stage of the season and it’s a new dynamic and that’s clearly something we have to work on.
“But having said that, we’ve been together, spent some time in the factory and at various events and it’s absolutely fine on a human level and it’s also in the professional terms, we have a full season to go.
“We want to have the best competitive car, both drivers given the opportunity to do the best possible results.
“And how great would it be to finish on a high with Lewis this year and we’ve had wonderful times and 10 more months to go and we keep it all,” Wolff concluded.
