by Lewis Hamilton and his close friend, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, have long enjoyed an informal pre-season chat in the kitchen of Wolff’s home in Oxford. It has traditionally been a chance to connect face-to-face, to share their expectations for the upcoming season but on Wednesday it was the backdrop to Formula One’s most unexpected break.
In the past Wolff’s and Hamilton’s personal meeting over coffee was so constructive that they had the opportunity to discuss the details of the new contract. This time a contract was on the agenda but it was not one Wolff was expecting as Hamilton informed him of his intention to leave Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025. It was the most significant driver transfer for years far as unexpected for Wolff as it was for everyone in F1.
Related: ‘We’re big boys’: Wolff is not amused after Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari
On Friday, speaking publicly for the first time since the announcement, Wolff admitted he had heard some rumors in the previous days but was still surprised when Hamilton announced his decision, not surprising given how fast and the whole story seems to have taken its toll on the story.
F1 is used to long contract negotiations, torturously lengthy and often tedious, stretching out over months. Hamilton seems to have done this with the usual panache almost entirely in secret and without much delay.
The driver and sources close to him are reported to have started talks with Ferrari in May last year. In fact, Wolff said on Friday that he believed the pair were going forward together even as late as December as planned with the new two-year contract they agreed in August.
“We were very aligned going into the Christmas period,” he said. “You have to ask Lewis why he changed his mind.”
That crucial detail will have to wait as Hamilton is yet to expand on the decision but Wolff and Mercedes are clearly out of the running. Especially because Ferrari, once in question, was willing to move very quickly and generously to ensure that they got the seven-time champion, who they had long wanted to persuade to come to Maranello.
The Guardian understands that the negotiations were extraordinarily fast, with one lawyer citing the contract as the fastest they had dealt with in F1. It seems that Ferrari was “excited” from the moment the two sides started talks and were not afraid to commit. Hamilton’s current salary is estimated to be around £40m.
That figure was repeated for the new Mercedes market but sources indicate that the Ferrari package is much higher than this number. This suggests that the process could be completed in the post-Christmas period.
The decision to leave the team that has been his home since 2013 and has scored six drivers’ championships, seems to have been the hardest part for Hamilton. It was a brave and bold move, to take a chance on a new team, a new challenge with no guarantee of success but when it is taken it seems that Hamilton’s commitment and the Scuderia’s diligence were not wanted in the process.
“When they started talking it was very easy,” one source told the Guardian, who seems to be a little taken aback by something with such a seismic effect on the sport.
Wolff has also revealed that he believes Hamilton wanted a longer-term deal than he had with Mercedes but this has also been disputed by insiders, who have insisted that it was not a factor in the decision.
Hamilton seems to have known he would be at risk but as he has stressed, he is keen on a new challenge and clearly sees the potential in Ferrari as he tries to secure the eighth championship he seeks out. If it was done in red it might be the crowning glory.
Wolff suggested it was also a gamble. “Moving to Ferrari, maybe rolling the dice a bit, I can follow that decision,” he said. Which is no doubt true to an extent but Hamilton was equally bold in leaving McLaren for Mercedes in 2013, a decision that was questioned as a reckless gamble at the time.
He was a young man then, consciously setting out on his own to leave the comfortable environment he had achieved at McLaren since he was 13 years old. machinations involved and the implications of his actions.
But despite the years between the two events and how he grew as a character during that time, Hamilton’s modus operandi and motivations seem to be very similar. McLaren, as with Mercedes, did not expect his departure when he left them for a team he believed had potential and offered a new and exciting challenge. What played out with Ferrari feels familiar, only now because of the narrowing years that have added an element of urgency to the business.
It is clear that the process, once Hamilton has made up his mind, is as decisive as any of the moves he makes. Little wonder then that Wolff and Mercedes were left stunned when the bomb dropped over breakfast on Wednesday.
