When Lewis Hamilton announced he would leave Mercedes after the 2024 campaign, Toto Wolff vented his feelings to the first person he could find – his wife Susie.
On March 14, Hamilton will begin his first Grand Prix, the Australian GP in Melbourne, as a Ferrari driver. In February last year, on the eve of the 2024 campaign, the seven-time FIA world drivers champion announced he would be moving to the iconic red brand, fulfilling a childhood dream.
It was a moment that shocked the motorsport world and sent the rumour mill spinning. Despite Max Verstappen being linked with Mercedes, George Russell was promoted to Hamilton’s seat, and 18-year-old Italian prospect Kimi Antonelli filled the space departed by Russell.
Netflix’s Drive to Survive caught the moment Wolff opened up about Hamilton’s startling decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari before the 2024 season had even begun. Their candid chat depicted the tensions of a protracted goodbye tour that put both parties in an uncanny bind.
Wolff was overheard telling his wife and F1 Academy director Susie: “I was up at five o’clock this morning,” to which Susie responded: “I heard you, yeah. There was a lot going on, no?”
The Mercedes boss then revealed: “Well, you can say that. Lewis is leaving next year. Why would you do that? The timing is weird,” before Susie replied: “It is the end of an era, and that also brings big opportunity.”
Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur, shown in the latest Netflix series instalment, provided the context behind the sudden announcement. He said: “With the timing, I did it on purpose. I did it because, for us, it was important to attack the season with that behind us. So we did it completely deliberately, and I think it was a good decision.”
Following the revelation, Wolff mulled over replacement options with Susie, dropping potential names like Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, and Verstappen to step into the shoes of the departing seven-time champion.
Sainz was snubbed by the Silver Arrows, who instead pinned their hopes on Verstappen, banking on the investigation into Christian Horner and the uncertainty over Helmut Marko’s future to shake up Red Bull. Despite negotiations with Jos Verstappen, Wolff couldn’t tempt the reigning champion away from the Milton Keynes team.
Alonso was a serious contender, but at the time of Mercedes’ interest, there was little difference between Wolff’s outfit and Aston Martin in terms of performance. The two-time world champion pledged his long-term future to Lawrence Stroll’s squad, a decision he may have regretted by season’s end.
Instead, with none of the three initial targets chosen, Wolff decided to elevate Antonelli, who was midway through his debut season in Formula Two at the time. The Italian teen enters F1 with heaps of raw speed but will need to hone his race craft on the fly in the high-pressure environment at the front of the pack.
In an interview with OE24, Wolff provided his backing to the teenager, stating he and Russell will be a perfect pair. The Austrian said: “It’s a super combination. The experienced George and the young Kimi, who has a lot of raw speed but still has a lot to learn.
“Kimi won’t be on pole and winning in Melbourne straight away. He will develop over the year and make mistakes, that’s just part of it. But he will also deliver very good performances.”
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