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Toto Wolff acknowledged he made big mistake with Lewis Hamilton – ‘You weren’t happy

Toto Wolff has hinted that a mistake he made might have played a role in Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes, which shocked the motorsport world. The announcement of Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, where he is set to join ahead of the 2025 Formula One season, was unexpected. However, Wolff admits that if things had been handled differently, Hamilton might still have been driving for Mercedes.

Wolff touched on the disagreement between himself and Hamilton during an episode of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, explaining that it centered around the team’s development of the car and its novel zero-pod design. This design was introduced to meet the new ground-effect regulations, but Hamilton was not satisfied with it. Wolff confessed that the decision to stick with the concept, based on encouraging results at the end of the previous season, was one of their biggest mistakes. He noted that Hamilton was unhappy with the car’s performance, and this tension contributed to the driver’s eventual decision to seek a move away from the team.

Reflecting on the situation, Wolff said that the team failed to adapt the car concept quickly enough. While Mercedes stuck to its design philosophy, Aston Martin made significant progress over the winter, showing that with the right aero and car balance, it was possible to win championships. Wolff expressed regret about waiting too long to make changes, particularly with the looming engine regulations set for 2026. He hinted that if the team had taken Hamilton’s feedback more seriously and implemented the necessary adjustments sooner, the situation might have been different.

Eventually, Mercedes responded to Hamilton’s concerns by changing the car’s concept, allowing the British driver to achieve better results as the 2023 season drew to a close, finishing in fourth place overall. Despite this improvement, Hamilton exercised a release clause in his contract that allowed him to move to Ferrari, despite having signed an extension in August of that year.

By February 2025, Wolff had come to terms with the fact that the time was right for Hamilton and Mercedes to part ways. Reflecting on their partnership, Wolff admitted that, in hindsight, the circumstances led to a natural conclusion. Although Hamilton had been instrumental in Mercedes’ success over the years, it seemed that both sides had reached a point where a fresh start was necessary.

Wolff’s candid remarks show that the decision to part ways wasn’t solely Hamilton’s, but also a result of missteps and delayed decisions within Mercedes, which ultimately led to the driver exploring other oppor

tunities.