F1 boss Toto Wolff breaks Lewis Hamilton replacement DEAL in Mercedes signing twist

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff — Photo: © IMAGO

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Wolff breaks Hamilton replacement DEAL in Mercedes signing twist

Mercedes replaced Lewis Hamilton ahead of the 2025 F1 season

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 4 March 2025 18:00 Updated: 19:34

It has been revealed ahead of the upcoming 2025 Formula 1 season that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff broke a deal made with Lewis Hamilton over his replacement at the team.

The seven-time champion announced in February 2024 that he would be leaving the Silver Arrows after 12 seasons with the team, where he and Wolff thrived in the most successful partnership the sport has ever seen.

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Since joining Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton achieved six of his seven drivers' title victories, and contributed to the team's own championship success, which saw them claim the constructors' trophy for eight consecutive seasons between 2014 and 2021.

The championship success of their former star driver was halted in 2021 when young challenger Max Verstappen stormed to his maiden title victory after an infamous last lap overtake on Hamilton, leaving both he and Mercedes boss Wolff devastated.

The Dutchman has gone on to win every drivers' championship since, having now racked up four titles and terrorising Wolff and Mercedes in the process thanks to his dominance with Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton lost out to Max Verstappen on the final lap of their 2021 championship battle

Mercedes were interested in signing Max Verstappen

Wolff confirms Verstappen Mercedes interest

Given Mercedes' historic rivalry with Red Bull and Hamilton's previous on-track disputes with Verstappen, fans and pundits alike were shocked when Wolff began entertaining rumours last season that his outfit were interested in signing Vertstappen.

Following Hamilton's move to Ferrari, Wolff signed Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli as the replacement for the 40-year-old, but with talk from both Wolff and Horner over the potential of nabbing each other's drivers, the market seemed up in the air.

Ahead of the 2025 season opener on March 16, many fans are excited to relive the drama of last year through Netflix's new season of their hit docuseries Drive to Survive.

The full season will be available to the public on March 7, 2025, but in a preview of its seventh edition, Sky Sports have revealed that a particularly interesting segment of the behind-the-scenes show sees Wolff speaking to his wife Susie Wolff at their home in Monaco, discussing whether his driver George Russell is good enough to lead the team from 2025, debating who should replace Hamilton.

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The footage was clearly shot before Antonelli had been assigned to Hamilton's seat and showed Wolff shockingly on board with breaking a vital promise he had made to the former Mercedes lead driver.

"So Carlos [Sainz] is somebody to look at. He's had some really good performances," Mercedes boss Wolff said whilst debating who should replace Hamilton. "Fernando [Alonso], I mean, race pace, racecraft is still very good.

Susie replied: "You're not going to be starting a new era with a long contract with Fernando, it's an interim. You don't think Max is an option?"

Toto responded: "I think he is. But, if you win all the races in a season, I think he is. I haven't spoken to him because I promised Lewis I wouldn't talk to him but I will have the conversation now."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Formula 1 Toto Wolff