Toto Wolff claims Fred Vasseur ghosted him and ‘didn’t do a good job’ in breaking the news of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move 

Toto Wolff criticized Fred Vasseur for not doing a good job in informing him of Hamilton's departure.

Toto Wolff claims Fred Vasseur ghosted him and ‘didn’t do a good job’ in breaking the news of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move 

Lewis Hamilton (in circle) Fred Vassuer and Toto Wolff (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton‘s 2025 move to Ferrari surprised everyone in the Formula One community. It came out of the blue and the announcement came unusually early. The first person at Mercedes to know about the news was none other than Team Principal Toto Wolff. Hamilton broke the news to him in person before telling his crew later in the day.

But Wolff already had doubts about the move happening. The Austrian texted Ferrai’s Team Principal Fred Vasseur enquiring about the possibility of such a move. But Vasseur refused to reply to Wolff instantly and left him on read for two days. He re-established communication only after the news was broken by Hamilton. Wolf while talking about the same admitted that Vasseur did a poor job communicating the news to him.

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According to Wolff, Vasseur did not notify him earlier of the relocation because Hamilton had requested him not to. This is because the Englishman wanted to do it himself. The Mercedes boss said that he was not astonished by Hamilton’s departure as many Formula One drivers wish to drive for Ferrari one day. He also mentioned that they had talked about his possible move to another team in the past. 

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No, he didn’t do a good job. We are friends since a long time and in the same way, we are knowledge that we are competitors on tracks. And so that is a balancing act that is not always easy. 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 no repercussion on the relationship that I will have with Fred. When I sent Fred a WhatsApp two days before he didn’t reply, so I guess I knew.
Toto wolff said, as reported by silverarrows.net.

Toto Wolff promises to uphold the legacy of Lewis Hamilton 

There has been a major emotional upheaval in the Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he will be joining Ferrari in 2025. But since this will be the seven-time champion’s final season with the Brackley team, Toto Wolff intends to honor Hamilton’s legacy and make the season one to remember.

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO). Hamilton driving Mercedes W15 (In circle)
When the news broke, clearly, it is a new situation, it’s something we didn’t anticipate happening at that stage of the season. It’s a new dynamic, and that’s clearly something we have to work on. In professional terms, we have a full season to go, we want to have the best competitive car, both drivers given the opportunity to do the best possible result and how great would it be to finish on a high with Lewis this year?
Toto Wolff said.

Hamilton’s unexpected declaration has put the team in an unfamiliar situation. Since Hamilton’s announcement, Wolff feels that everything has stayed flawless, and he will stop at nothing to make sure the player has a great farewell.

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