Hamilton and Mercedes: A Bond Beyond the Racing Grid

Toto Wolff assures Hamilton remains part of Mercedes’ family, regardless of his future with Ferrari or beyond the track.

Toto Wolff confirms that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will remain connected, even with the Briton’s departure to Ferrari. The Mercedes F1 team principal aims to maintain personal ties with his former driver and does not rule out the possibility of working together again in the future.

“There is no question of ending the relationship between Mercedes and Lewis, nor the one we have as a team, nor the personal relationship Susie and I share with him. On the contrary,” Wolff stated.

“I think Lewis has decided to do something different for the end of his career, which I understand, or can understand, but he will always be part of this family and always welcome here. And one day, perhaps when he stops driving, there will be many adventures we can embark on together.”

The Austrian praised his compatriot Niki Lauda for convincing Hamilton to join Mercedes at the end of 2012, particularly through a well-timed meeting after a lost victory for the Briton.

“Without Niki, there would be no Lewis at Mercedes. I think Niki was so persistent in his efforts to convince him to join Mercedes and, in particular, scored the goal with him that Sunday night in Singapore, when Lewis had a failure with McLaren and persuaded him to join the team.”

“Everything else followed. I’m not sure Niki has ever been given enough credit for that. He took no prisoners — what’s the salary you want? — and convinced the Mercedes board to make it happen.”

“Niki was always a very effective mediator between the team and Lewis in the early years because he spoke as a three-time world champion and had Lewis’s respect. Eventually, the three of us came together, and the entire team became a single entity.”

“Sometimes we refer to drivers as contractors: they come in, you pay them well, and if they don’t have the right car and get a better offer elsewhere, they leave. Lewis transitioned from being a contractor to becoming a team member, and that happened because everyone embraced the team ethos we had at the time.”

Eddie Jordan, who had revealed Hamilton’s move, explained how he knew: “Niki Lauda was pushing me at McLaren to go talk to Lewis, to deliver all the little messages for him, because he couldn’t do it due to his ties with Mercedes. He was so deeply involved with Mercedes that I had to do it for him.”