Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has detailed that a delayed text response from Ferrari counterpart Fred Vasseur hinted that Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari was on the cards.
Hamilton will exit Mercedes at the end of the current season, bringing an end to his long-standing relationship with the German manufacturer.
The seven-time World Champion will join forces with Ferrari after signing a multi-year contract with F1’s most successful team.
Wolff has revealed that he reached out to Ferrari Team Principal Vasseur before the announcement was made and after failing to get a response, it indicated to him that Hamilton had been poached.
“When I sent Fred a WhatsApp two days before he didn’t reply, so I guess I knew,” Wolff told media including RacingNews365.
“But then, no, Fred didn’t tell me, Lewis felt that he wanted to tell me first.”
Viewed by others:
No harm done to Vasseur relationship
Vasseur has stated that his call to Wolff following the announcement was just as difficult as informing Carlos Sainz that Hamilton will be taking his seat next year.
When asked if Vasseur did a good job with his phone call, Wolff joked: “No, he didn’t do a good job!”
Wolff added that there has been no negative impact on his relationship with Vasseur over Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari.
“We have been friends for a long time and in the same way, we are knowledgeable that we are competitors on tracks.
“That is a balancing act that is not always easy, because we have the duty and the obligation to perform to the best of our abilities for the interest of our team.
“This is what Fred has done in that situation. I understand the rationale.
“Obviously, it’s not always easy in such a good relationship to know how to handle that, but it has no effects or repercussions on the relationship that I will have with Fred.”
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!