Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari? Everything that's been said so far

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari? Everything that's been said so far

Do you think it will happen?

Matthew Scott

Wednesday 25 December 2019 16:00

Wolff won't stop Hamilton pursuing Ferrari move

"I'm totally okay with that. I think this is a free world and I recognise that everybody needs to explore career options, and make the best decision for themselves. Drivers and everybody else included. So, I have zero problem, a racing driver will always try to be in the quickest possible car, and the quickest possible car is always going to try to have the best racing driver in there. So there is a good consensus between us [over] what we are trying to achieve.

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"I am totally relaxed about the situation. We need to push very hard to provide the drivers with the quickest possible car. And if we are able to do this, I'm 100 percent convinced that we will have the best possible driver line-up in the car. And everything points to our relationship [with Hamilton] to continue, but in life you never know. And therefore, as I said before, I am very open about this. I've started to embrace the fact that everybody has objectives, and needs to have the best possible opportunity for their career. In that respect, I am absolutely open for everybody to explore options. But obviously my personal priority as for the team would be to continue the successful journey [with Hamilton]."

Hamilton refuses to deny meeting Elkann

"Well, naturally everything that happens behind closed doors is obviously always private with whoever it is you end up sitting with. For many, many years I've never ever sat down and considered other options, because we've been on the journey that we've been on and to be honest, I still think we're on that path and I think there's very little that's going to shift it from that. But I think there's no harm in… I know Toto is also looking at his options in terms of his future and only he will know what is the best thing for him and his family. So I'm waiting to see what he's doing with that.

"I love where I am so it's definitely not a quick decision to do something else, but of course I think it's only smart and wise for me to sit and think of what I want.If it is the last period or stage in my career. Actually I want to keep winning so I want to keep being able to fight with these guys [Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc] as well. I can't really tell you what else is going to happen moving forwards."

Wolff: Hamilton to Ferrari a 25 per cent chance

"I would rate it personally – and I'm leaning myself out of the window here – I would rate it at 75 per cent [Hamilton staying with Mercedes]. I give you [that] number because I think from the rational, everything speaks for [the] continuation of the relationship, from both sides. But equally, there is a 25 per cent chance that we are not in control of. So we'll see how the next months pan out.

"For me, as long as we are able to produce a quick car and powerful engine, we will always have the opportunity to decide who drives the car. And I think that will no doubt be Lewis' priority to try to make it work with the team. I will try to make it work with Lewis, but the most important thing is that we have a good car. [Then] we are able to decide for ourselves. I know that we want to have the strongest possible line-up in 2021 and there's a full year to go. I think the silly season is going to start soon and conversations are going to begin. And whether we know our driver line-up in April, July or October is not important."

Vettel jokes Hamilton is already a Ferrari driver

"I think he's already a Ferrari driver. No? So no change! I think he's a good customer. He owns more than one."

Leclerc would welcome Hamilton to Ferrari

"Well of course. At the end, we are in Formula One and we want to fight against the best. I've had a big opportunity this year to have Seb next to me who is a four time World Champion and I've learned a lot from him and you can always learn from this type of champion so yeah, of course."