Toto Wolff recalls Carlos Sainz's dreaded 3-word message about Lewis Hamilton's negotiations with Ferrari

Toto Wolff has shared what truly went down behind the scenes when it came to Lewis Hamilton's shock move from Mercedes to Ferrari. The Austrian remembered it all first began with Carlos Sainz Sr. (the F1 driver's father) messaging him and informing him that there was something cooking after which he saw the wheels turning in motion two weeks prior to Hamilton eventually telling him.

The 2024 F1 season started with massive news of Hamilton deciding to move on from Mercedes and sign with Ferrari. The driver was going to drive for the Italian team in 2025 and had decided not to take the option for that season. What was even more surprising was that the news came out before the 2024 season had started, which meant that the timing was a bit odd as Lewis would spend an entire season with the team knowing that he would be leaving at the end of it.

Talking to The Guardian in a recent interview, Mercedes boss Wolff recounted that he first got the hint from Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz's father who messaged him "Something is cooking." While the Austrian was surprised, he started getting calls from other drivers close to Charles Leclerc soon after, and it became clear that this was happening. He said:

“I wasn’t shocked at all. I knew this was happening a few weeks earlier when I got a phone call from Carlos Sainz [who has lost his seat at Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton] and his father. He said. ‘Something is cooking.’ I said. ‘Why would that happen before the start of the season?’"

He added:

“But that same afternoon I received calls from a few other drivers that were close to Charles Leclerc [who remains at Ferrari]. Fernando Alonso too. I think it started from Leclerc knowing over the winter and then his closest allies hearing there was a seat free [at Mercedes]. I said to Susie, ‘This is happening without us officially knowing.’”

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Toto Wolff on the relationship with Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff was questioned on how his relationship with Lewis Hamilton will be once he leaves Mercedes. The Austrian and the Brit have become friends during their decade-long partnership, and have been seen socializing off the track as well.

With that being said, when the two move to different sides of the paddock, it makes things more complicated. When questioned about how his relationship with Hamilton would evolve, he said:

“There is an emotional side because we’ve been on this journey together. The friendship will change, but not the depth of emotion. On the contrary. This will be a new friendship with Lewis Hamilton. On the professional side, I always see benefits in change."

Looking forward to the upcoming changes, Toto said:

"We have new regulations, we have reshaped our organization and we’re embarking on a new era with our senior driver [George Russell] turning 27 and the junior driver [Kimi Antonelli] being 18. We have two drivers barely older together than Lewis [who is 40 in January]. That’s very exciting.”

Lewis Hamilton has been a part of Mercedes for more than a decade now. The driver will end the partnership after achieving the most that anyone has done with a single team.