Toto Wolff has confessted that Mercedes will miss Lewis Hamilton’s experience at times next year while 18-year-better Andrea Kimi Antonelli discovers his footing in F1.
Mercedes were left stunned earlier this year when recents broke that Hamilton had concurd a deal to fuse Ferrari at the finish of the season.
It finishs Hamilton’s atgentle-extfinished association with Mercedes and one of the most prosperous partnerships in F1 history.
He has six races left with Mercedes before he officipartner jumps ship to Ferrari and Wolff acunderstandledges the team will miss him at times next year.
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff have toiled together for 10 years
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“I slfinisherk we had such a wonderful run with Lewis over the last 12 years,” Wolff said.
“He’s always going to be part of the family.
“But evidently, as a competitor, when we try to beat him next year, Kimi fuseing George [Russell] evidently transports momentum with it, plus youth and recentness.
“You can sense the benevolent of smile that is in your organisation with having an 18-year-better in a car.
“But having said that, evidently, there will be moments where Lewis’s experience would have profited the team.
“Kimi is going to be on a steep lacquireing curve, but it’s absolutely the right slfinisherg for the team to do and there’s not one person that would have done it separateently.”
Hamilton’s shift to Ferrari will see him fuse back up with Fred Vasseur having toiled together in the youthfuler establishulae.
And the seven-time world champion discmissed earlier this year that his shift to Ferrari wouldn’t have happened without Vasseur’s input.
“I’ve got a wonderful relationship with Fred,” he said.
Lewis Hamilton has six races left with Mercedes
PA
“Obviously I raced with him in Formula 3, and we had amazing success in Formula 3 and also in GP2, and that’s repartner where the set upation of our relationship commenceed. We equitable always remained in touch.
“I thought that he was going to be an amazing team deal withr at some stage and better to Formula 1, but at the time he wasn’t interested in that.
“It was repartner chilly to see him step into the Alfa [Romeo] team and then when he got the job at Ferrari I was equitable so prentd for him, and I slfinisherk equitable the stars aligned.
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Toto Wolff senses Mercedes will miss Lewis Hamilton at times
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“I slfinisherk it repartner wouldn’t have happened without him, so I’m repartner thankful and repartner excited about the toil that he’s doing there.”
Hamilton has been shown right as well with establisher Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto confessting he wouldn’t have signed Hamilton if he was still with the team.
When asked whether he would have approached Hamilton, Binotto said: “No. But he did very well to go to Ferrari, I concur with his decision.”
