Lewis Hamilton is aiming for a strong weekend in Qatar as he looks to challenge for P2 in the Drivers’ Championship.
Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is extremely disappointed by his absence from the Qatar Grand Prix, despite maintaining his presence through remote communication channels.
Wolff missed the Japanese Grand Prix due to knee surgery and had initially hoped to return for the Lusail International Circuit event.
However, his ongoing recovery forced him to be absent for the second time in a row.
Responding to speculation that Wolff’s involvement in team activities had decreased during his absence, seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton clarified:
“Toto was at every meeting. I saw someone write the other day that they had to call or something for the last race…that’s BS.
“Toto, even though he wasn’t here in person – he was obviously very disappointed that he couldn’t be here – he was part of every meeting, he watched today’s meeting, he will following the meeting tomorrow morning, he ‘I’ll be at the meeting in the afternoon.
“He’s communicating, just like the people in the factory are doing weekend strategy.
“He’s still a part of it 100%; He’s not really here, but he still attends these meetings, he speaks in all the meetings just like when he was here.
Hamilton continued to emphasize Wolff’s continued involvement and important role in Mercedes’ success, saying:
“He has worked extremely hard to get this team to where it is today and he can have the weekend off without any problem – he is the boss.
“I just told him we would get through it and not to worry.”
Emphasizing their close working relationship and friendship, Hamilton said: “Toto and I are always in contact, we are good friends and teammates. “We talk a lot about cars; we hung out when i got home, we had lunch and we talked a lot about…
“I try to learn from Toto as a businessman and he has always been very supportive of me.
“You’ll see some things change at least next year, but my progression, he’s played a huge role in that, being open, allowing me to be myself.
“We have done more than any other partnership we have seen in sports on so many levels.”
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