2024-02-03 01:28:11
Mercedes F1 said it had accepted there was always an element of risk in leaving an exit clause in Lewis Hamilton’s latest F1 contract with the team. Mercedes are coming to terms with Hamilton’s shock decision to move to Ferrari from 2025. The new two-year contract agreed with Hamilton last year had the flexibility to be terminated as early as this season.
This is understood to have been a compromise arrangement to give both sides some movement towards 2025 in case performance by 2024 does not meet expectations. This means Mercedes is free to pursue another driver if they feel they don’t want to continue with Hamilton’s contract, but could lose the seven-time champion if Hamilton chooses elsewhere. I was also aware that there was. And that’s exactly what happened after Hamilton signed with Ferrari and met directly with team principal Toto Wolff this week to inform him that he would take advantage of his current release clause. Speaking to some media outlets on Friday, Wolff equally admitted that Mercedes had not turned a blind eye to Hamilton’s departure, but that the team had no interest in committing to him any further last year. . Reflecting on the change in circumstances that prompted Hamilton’s departure, Wolff said: “Going into the Christmas period we were very aligned. We said that publicly and within the team. Why the change of heart? You should ask Lewis.” “I totally understand how he explained it to me, that he needed a new challenge, that he was looking for a different environment and that maybe it meant something else. “We were the big boys and knew it could be beneficial for both parties to sign a short-term contract.” He was unable to do so and has chosen the option of leaving. We fully respect the possibility of changing your mind. There are various circumstances. Moving to Ferrari could be the last job of his career. It could be a roll of the dice. I’ll abide by that decision.” Wolff believes that Ferrari’s eagerness to give Hamilton a long-term contract, which Mercedes couldn’t offer, will be key to convincing Hamilton to join the team. I think that was a factor. “Having a long-term contract with Ferrari and the opportunity to do a big job at the end of my career might have been one of the considerations,” Wolff added. “We haven’t talked about whether they have a better chance or whether we have a better chance. I don’t think we can say that. “At the end of the day, he’s the most successful driver. We went on a journey together and it’s going to go down in the history books, and it’s going to go down in the Mercedes history books.”The timing is a surprise Wolff is well aware that rumors of Hamilton and Ferrari have been swirling for some time, and that the British… He said it wasn’t a shock after all that the driver was taken over by the Italian team. But it was the sudden timing that caught him by surprise, and Wolff only found out about it when he had arranged to meet the driver at his home in Oxford on Wednesday morning. “What surprised me was that even though I had heard the rumors a few days before, I was still waiting for the breakfast I had planned,” Wolff said. “And then on Wednesday morning, he broke the news to me. “He’s very straight with me, so as soon as he said this is what he’s going to do, That was the truth. I didn’t try to convince him. “I just have to move forward. What’s the timing? How can I best protect the team? And I want to make this 2024 a success with these two drivers. How can I do this without it being awkward?” Asked if Hamilton’s decision had hurt him, Wolff said: “No, it hasn’t.” “I need to stay calm and decide how best to manage the 2024 season and what decisions need to be made going forward. “I’m not going to lose the person I love. He just changes teams and we were very conscious when we signed the contract that that could happen.”The timing may have come as a surprise, but we’ve seen it happen many times before.” I’ve seen things happen and I think in F1 it’s all about agility and being able to accept changing circumstances.”
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