“We haven't divorced as friends”: Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move will not affect their friendship 

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed that his personal relationship with Lewis Hamilton hasn't suffered after the latter announced his move to Ferrari for the 2025 season. The seven-time world champion has been an integral part of the German team's success in the sport as he guided them to eight consecutive Constructor's Championships from 2014 to 2021.

Hamilton's dynamic with Wolff is hailed as one of the most successful driver-team boss pairings in F1 history, and is considered by many to be in the same league as Ross Brawn-Michael Schumacher and Christian Horner-Sebastian Vettel .

Speaking with Sky Sports's Martin Brundle, Toto Wolff pointed out that despite being blindsided by Lewis Hamilton's shock move to Ferrari, his relationship off the track with the Brit hadn't changed. He said:

"The personal relationship [with Hamilton] doesn’t suffer. If I put myself in his shoes, I can understand because the team wasn’t doing very well. When you’re in the last phase of your career, everyone wants to wear red overalls with a yellow prancing horse."

He further added out that he and Hamilton hadn't "divorced as friends" as he was certain that their dynamic was deeper than people think, adding:

“So I kind of got my head around it and why he’s doing that, and I have absolute peace with him in my relationship goes much deeper. For 12 years we’ve been friends and allies and brothers in crime and he’s got to be competitive in the car but we haven’t divorced as friends.”

Toto Wolff gives his real thoughts on Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff stated that he was aware that Lewis Hamilton moving away from the Brackley-based outfit could happen but was caught out by the news as he did not have the time to react.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the Austrian was adamant that the leaks for the 39-year-old joining were coming from Ferrari. He said:

“What was bruising is that I didn’t have any time to react. It was basically the same day. And when I said, ‘Okay, how are we going to announce this? The beginning of the season or mid-season?’

"It was clear it was leaking from Ferrari. And it was happening to fall on the day of earnings."

Wolff has been pushing Mercedes junior driver Kimi Antonelli to take the seat vacated by Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 season and has been providing the F2 driver with loads of time in F1 machinery before joining the sport.

However, the Austrian is yet to officially announce the replacement for the departing Hamilton but has rejected the interest of Carlos Sainz, citing their intention to promote the young Italian for next year.

Wolff is also keeping tabs on Max Verstappen's future with Red Bull and has publicly stated his desire to have the three-time world champion in Mercedes next year if he becomes available.