Mercedes Team Principal Shares His First Thought After Being Told Hamilton Is Leaving

"When he told me first, my next thought was pragmatic. What does it mean? When are we communicating this? What are the pressure points? How are we managing it this season going forward? And what is it we're going to do in terms of driver line-up? The team's mind kicked in."

"Now having slept a few nights on it, it means that our professional journey comes to an end, working together, but it doesn't mean that our personal relationship ends. I've found a friend, we've built a relationship over the last 10 years."

"It doesn't hurt, because I need to keep the calm and decide how we're going to best manage the 2024 season and what the decisions need to be going forward. It's not like someone that I like a lot is disappearing, it's just changing the team."