It is business as usual for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton at the moment but emotions will no doubt kick in as the Briton’s move to Ferrari next season edges closer to becoming a reality, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said on Thursday.
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur did not ask for the seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton’s early release, and Wolff said the sport’s most successful driver will get a proper send off after 11 years behind the wheel for Mercedes.
“There is no overwhelming emotion now that this is ending… [but] the last race together will be quite a thing because we had this wonderful partnership for such a long time,” Wolff said after the first practice for Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“But having said that, Lewis is not going to disappear. Lewis is going to be on the grid next year with a Ferrari. We are not losing the person, we are just losing the driver. But we embark on a new future.”
Hamilton, 39, has struggled this season. He said he had felt like walking away from Mercedes early after finishing 10th in Sao Paulo earlier this month, saying it had been “a disaster of a weekend” and the worst the car had ever been.
Wolff also raised eyebrows when he was quoted as saying in a recently published book that “everyone has a shelf life”, adding that the Ferrari move meant he would not have to make the decision to get rid of Hamilton.
Wolff reiterated on Thursday that the quotes were taken out of context and said the pair have moved past it.
“One rule that we’ve established very early in our relationship is that we talk immediately and say: ‘Why did you say that?’ or ‘What did you mean?’ and that is what we have done,” he said.
Wolff said he has repeatedly made it clear that he believes Hamilton to be the greatest driver of all time.
“If we are able to give him a quick car he’s going to be able to win, he’s able to fight for a championship, but we have failed in doing so,” he said.
Hamilton was fastest in both practices in Las Vegas on Thursday and will look to keep it rolling in Friday’s final practice and qualifying.
