Hamilton to Ferrari bombshell revealed to Wolff via inside tip-off

Toto Wolff has revealed a tip-off from Carlos Sainz Sr alerted him to the fact Lewis Hamilton would be quitting Mercedes to join Ferrari before the seven-time F1 champion delivered the shock news.

Hamilton informed Wolff he was activating an escape clause in his Mercedes contract on a routine visit to see his Mercedes boss in January. The Austrian, however, was not caught by surprise.

Instead, Wolff was informed that Hamilton was in talks to replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari by the Spanish driver's father.

"I heard the bells ringing two weeks before," said Wolff, speaking on the latest episode of the High Performance podcast.  "The old man Sainz called me and said, this is what's happening.

"Then there were a few drivers' dads who rang me up that didn't before. I thought, 'Okay, something is going on there'.

"And then I sent a text to [Ferrari boss] Fred Vasseur saying, 'You're taking our driver?' Didn't get any response. Very unusual for Fred. He's a good friend. So yeah, I saw it coming."

Wolff reveals Guardiola advice

Going into the chat, Wolff had an ace up his sleeve in a bid to throw Hamilton off guard, as he knew at that stage he had lured chief designer Simone Resta away from Ferrari after 23 years. Resta joins Mercedes next year as strategic development director. 

"When Lewis arrived in the house, like he did so many years before, we had a bit of a small talk, like we always do about the Christmas holidays and all of that," added Wolff.

"Then I said, 'Well, we're recruiting from Ferrari now. We got this guy'. And Lewis was, 'Oh, there's something I need to tell you'. And when he said that, that initial moment was a little bit of...so this is really happening?"

Wolff is adamant the news from Hamilton, ending a relationship stretching back over a decade, did 'not even move the needle' in terms of its importance in his life due to "much worse...happening, like real drama and trauma".

He has conceded, however, that a chat with good friend Pep Guardiola, boss of English Premiership side Manchester City, set him straight on handling Hamilton's exit.

"If someone decides to go, then you need to let them go," said Wolff. "I had a chat with Pep a long time ago. I said, 'What do you do if this and that player leaves?' And he said, 'What do you mean I do?' I said, 'Well, do you try to convince them to stay?'

"He said, 'No. If somebody thinks he can play better elsewhere or earns more you have just got to let them go'.

"It is something I embrace in the same way here. If somebody wants to go, then let's make it as good as possible for each of the parties."