F1 News: Lewis Hamilton to open Toto Wolff talks at Mercedes amid Ferrari move uncertainty

Lewis Hamilton looks sad as Toto Wolff looks on angrily — Photo: © IMAGO

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Hamilton to open Wolff talks at Mercedes amid Ferrari F1 move uncertainty

Lewis Hamilton needs to talk with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about his Ferrari F1 move next season

Yara Elshebiny

Thursday 18 April 2024 08:28 Updated: 09:34

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Lewis Hamilton admitted he will need to talk with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about his Ferrari move.

The air hangs heavy at Mercedes headquarters. Hamilton, the face of the Silver Arrows for an era-defining decade, will be leaving the team and joining Ferrari next season, replacing Carlos Sainz and partnering with Charles Leclerc.

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This leaves a gaping hole in the Mercedes garage, and Wolff faces a critical decision on who will replace the seven-time champion.

The Brit, for his part, remains laser-focused on his final season with Mercedes, hoping to secure at least one victory before their journey together concludes. The sting of the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, where a controversial late-race call by Michael Masi snatched the championship from his grasp, still lingers.

A race win, at least, would be a fitting farewell after a winless streak stretching back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

However, Hamilton has now admitted that he needs to talk with Wolff to discuss his historic move to Ferrari next season.

Lewis Hamilton hasn't won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The seven-time world champion has been struggling with Mercedes since 2022

Hamilton: 'I don't know how to navigate'

This isn't an entirely unfamiliar position for Hamilton, as he switched from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, in a move which also shocked the F1 world.

However, there's a crucial difference between his past switch and this one. His previous transfer was announced much later in the 2012 season, on September 28.

Now, with a significant chunk of the 2024 season yet to unfold, Hamilton acknowledges the uncharted territory he finds himself in, not knowing when Mercedes may stop sharing information about their car with the 39-year-old.

"I think it will start with a conversation with Toto, because I don't know how to navigate", the Brit admitted to German publication Motorsport-Total.

"I've never been in this position before at this point of the year.

"When I was leaving McLaren, it was towards the end of the season. I didn't get to go to Mercedes till, I think, it was in December when I had my first seat fit, after the season was done. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to navigate it."

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Charles Leclerc Toto Wolff Carlos Sainz