Lewis Hamilton surprised Toto Wolff by sensationally leaving Mercedes for Ferrari.
Senior Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was forced to poke fun at Mercedes and Toto Wolff after Lewis Hamilton shocked everyone in Formula One by switching from the Silver Arrows to Ferrari. After more than a decade at the Brackley-based team, the Brit is expected to leave at the end of the current campaign.
Wolff acknowledged that he was taken aback by Hamilton’s decision to quit Mercedes after just a few months of agreeing to a new deal. Due to this, the team is working feverishly to find a replacement for him for the 2025 season, in which the seven-time world champion will compete in Maranello red alongside Charles Leclerc.
When Marko was asked to comment on Hamilton’s resignation, OE24 put it to him that, in the past, the 39-year-old and his team principal had such a close relationship “that no piece of paper would fit between the two.”
Marko cheekily retorted, “But a contract with Ferrari would!” Then he emphasized that Red Bull’s competitors would suffer as a result of Hamilton’s exit. He continued, “I think it undermines Mercedes.” “It’s unclear if that makes Ferrari stronger. All things considered, this has a huge effect, all the way down to stock market prices. That something is taking place is fantastic.
Despite everyone knowing that Hamilton is not committed to the Mercedes team past 2024, the 80-year-old was still eager to watch the season unfold. “In an instance such as this, your thoughts are typically more concentrated on the new group,” Marko remarked. He is not allowed to participate in any significant innovations by the current team because he would undoubtedly take them with him. For sports, the entire experience is fantastic—better than Netflix.
Wolff has previously stated that he wouldn’t mind if Hamilton participated in team talks about their upcoming cars because he knows he won’t reveal any trade secrets to Ferrari after he switches.
The move by Hamilton to switch from Mercedes to Ferrari seemed to take everyone in the
Hamilton’s decision to jump from Mercedes to Ferrari appeared to surprise everyone in the paddock and Marko was no different, though he gave a theory as to the Brit’s motivation for leaving.
Marko said, “That surprised me too, a sporting sensation, especially the timing.” It’s unclear how this came to be. In the second half of 2023, Ferrari passed Mercedes, and McLaren was even quicker. Perhaps Hamilton saw something that the general public is still unaware of.
The theory that Hamilton chose to leave Mercedes because he was dissatisfied with their W15 vehicle has already been refuted by Wolff. The day after Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari was officially announced, on February 2, the team principal verified that he had tested the vehicle in the simulator for the first time.
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