Toto Wolff confirms Ferrari boss held direct talks with Lewis Hamilton over a potential move to the Italian team

Mercedes extends Hamilton's contract for two more seasons.

Toto Wolff confirms Ferrari boss held direct talks with Lewis Hamilton over a potential move to the Italian team

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton, currently P3 in the championship standings, signed a contract extension with Mercedes that will see him race for the team till 2025. It was announced amidst massive rumors that the Mercedes driver was in talks with Ferrari for a potential move. But he extended his contract with Mercedes in the summer break and extended his stay with Silver Arrows that started in 2013.

Hamilton has a happy relationship with the Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff. The Austrian Billionaire confirmed that Ferrari boss John Elkann and Hamilton had dinner together, and a potential move was put on the table. But the seven-time world champion informed his boss that their talk never escalated into a negotiation and his priority was Mercedes.

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The Mercedes team boss said, as reported by sportsmole.co.uk, “Some time ago Lewis told me, ‘I saw John Elkann at dinner, but know that I’m not going anywhere.” And then when they wrote about his conversation with Ferrari, he said again, ‘Toto, I’m not carrying out any negotiations’,” he added. “There was a bit of a delay, but it was clear that it would end like this, with Lewis staying with us.”

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Wolff met with the Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur, several times this year, discussing Red Bull’s dominance. He accepted that if they can’t beat the Red Bulls, they’d be happy to see Ferrari do it. Wolff also said that Hamilton’s contract was equally important considering the team’s future in George Russell. “There was never an inch of doubt in my mind […] We are happy,” Wolff insisted.

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Toto Wolff’s reaction to Mercedes’ pairs lap one crash at the Qatar GP

At the start of the race, Hamilton was near to take the lead going into the first corner but found himself tapping wheels with his teammate, resulting in his spin and getting stuck in the gravel trap. Hamilton and Russell, both seemingly unhappy after the crash, blamed each other for the incident. Hamilton’s “Yeah, I got taken out by my team-mate,” was responded with Russell’s “Come on, what the hell. That is two races in a row.”

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (via IMAGO)

But after the end of the Qatar GP race, the Mercedes team boss shared his concern about the crash, speaking to Sky Sports, he said, “Now, there is some work to do between the two. You can deal with each other however you want, but the team will have to intervene from now on, and it will.”

Wolff still thinks the team is moving in the right direction, and they will try to achieve as many points as possible and maintain their gap ahead of Ferrari and McLaren for P2 in the Constructor’s Championship.

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