"Lewis Hamilton is the greatest F1 driver of all time": Mercedes boss on being unable to pursue the 8th title with the F1 legend

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recently talked about not getting the opportunity to win a record-breaking eighth drivers' world championship with Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion will soon move to Ferrari after the 2024 F1 season.

Ever since Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013, he started his dominant era in F1. He won his second world championship with Silver Arrows in 2014, and then in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. In the 2021 F1 season, Hamilton lost the drivers' title to Red Bull's Max Verstappen. It could have been his record-breaking world championship.

After 2021, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes experienced a major dip in performance while Red Bull continued their dominance in 2022 and 2023. During this time, rumors emerged that Hamilton could soon leave Mercedes for a new challenge with a different team. Eventually, in February 2024, Ferrari announced that they had signed Hamilton for 2025, marking the end of the Brit's 12-year run with Mercedes.

Speaking to "BBC" in an exclusive on 29th August, Toto Wolff initially praised Lewis Hamilton for being one of the most talented drivers in F1. The Mercedes honcho also mentioned how Hamilton had broken most of the records, except the most drivers' world championships.

"You have to look at it from a point more detached than we do. He is the greatest F1 driver of all time. He has beaten all the records and there is only this one, with championships, where he is equal with Michael Schumacher, another great - if not, with Lewis, the greatest driver. So it is what it is. And we can't change that," Wolff said.

He also admitted that he wanted to go the other way round, where Lewis Hamilton remains in Mercedes and wins his eighth title with them. Touching upon the controversial 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Wolff claimed that the decisions taken during the race were not fair.

"Would I have wanted it to go the other way? Absolutely. Do I think what happened in 2021 was anywhere near fair? No, it wasn't. But we can't turn back time and there are worse things than losing a race or a World Championship. There is more drama in the world out there," he added.

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Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari and Mercedes taking a different direction

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recently talked about Lewis Hamilton's explosive move to Ferrari in 2025. Speaking to BBC, he said that there were no hard feelings between Hamilton and the team after he announced his departure.

Wolff mentioned that he understands how "prestigious" it is to drive for the Ferrari F1 team. He then added that his team would have the freedom to head in a different direction after the seven-time world champion leaves.

"Being a driver for Ferrari is super-prestigious. Maybe for us as a team also it is important to emancipate ourselves and go in a different direction," Wolff said.

As of now, Lewis Hamilton is sixth in the 2024 drivers' standings with 154 points. He is chasing fifth-placed Carlos Sainz (172 points), whom he will be replacing in Ferrari in 2025.