Wolff Admits He Didn't Give Hamilton Longer Contract Because Of Promising Rookie Driver

Wednesday, 28 February 2024 at 18:30

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted he didn't want to give Lewis Hamilton a more extended contract to keep his options open with the prodigy in his academy.

Lewis Hamilton will be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of the upcoming season. Some suggest the partial reason for his exit is that he was no longer appreciated in Mercedes, which was also indicated by the length of the deal he signed with the German team last summer.

The seven-time World Champion signed a 1+1 year deal with Silver Arrows, which meant he could stay racing with the team only until the end of the 2025 season.

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In a recent interview with ORF, Toto Wolff remembered how he passed on Max Verstappen (when the super talent was only F3 driver) because he didn't have an available seat.

"There was a situation many years ago where we had the opportunity to let Max drive, And that wasn't possible back then because we simply didn't have a cockpit."

Red Bull offered Verstappen a better offer than Wolff, and the rest is history. The Dutchman is now a triple World Champion and an immense part of Red Bull's success in the last few years.

"[Nico] Rosberg and Hamilton were tied to us long-term, and Red Bull naturally seized the opportunity. They gave him a contract with Toro Rosso, with the possibility of driving for Red Bull the following year."

Wolff apparently regrets his past decision and wants to learn from it. Mercedes currently has one super talent in their academy. His name is Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

He is only 17 years old and will start his first season in F2 this year after skipping F3, but the Italian has shown immense promise so far in his career.

The Mercedes team principal didn't want to see another World Champion in the making slip through his fingers. Consequently, he tried to keep his options open and offered the 39-year-old only a short-term deal.

"We then lost the young driver, and you can see how successful he has become. And precisely because we have a junior on the horizon who is really driving at a very high level, I simply wanted to keep this option open."