Toto Wolff says recommendation from Manchester Metropolis boss Pep Guardiola impressed his determination to not attempt to persuade Lewis Hamilton to remain at Mercedes.
Seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton introduced in February that he could be leaving Mercedes on the finish of 2024 to finish a blockbuster swap to Ferrari, having opted to activate a break clause in his present 1+1 contract extension.
Reasonably than attempting to alter Hamilton’s thoughts upon being knowledgeable of the information, Wolff as a substitute elected to observe a philosophy utilized by Guardiola.
“I believe if anyone decides to go, then you could allow them to go,” Wolff instructed the Excessive Efficiency podcast.
“I had a chat with Pep Guardiola a very long time in the past and he’s a good friend. I stated ‘what do you do if this or that participant leaves’ and he stated ‘what do you imply I do?’ I stated ‘nicely do you attempt to persuade them to remain?
“He stated: ’No, if anyone thinks he can play elsewhere higher, or earns extra, then you’ve gotten simply acquired to allow them to go’.
“And that’s one thing I embrace in the identical means right here. If anyone needs to go, then let’s make it pretty much as good as doable for every of the events.”
Wolff insisted that Hamilton’s information, whereas coming as a shock, was finally not troublesome to course of.
“I had a lot worse in my life, taking place, like actual drama and trauma,” he stated. “This isn’t even transferring the needle.”
“It’s only a new state of affairs. It has dangers and alternatives, dangers within the sense of how do I inform the sponsors as rapidly as doable?
“As a result of it was leaking… And on the opposite facet, what are we doing about subsequent yr?”
Explaining the choice to advertise junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton’s alternative for 2025, Wolff added: “Due to my tougher upbringing I don’t truly battle to take determination.
“That’s truly one thing that comes fairly naturally to me. There may be an instinctive response, inside response that I’ve inside myself and that was actually ‘that’s the chance for Kimi’.
“On the opposite facet, there was an F2 season to go and plenty of testing for Kimi, so you must in a means stand again and say ‘maintain on a minute, that’s your instinctive response, in order that’s most likely going to occur, however there might be breaking factors the place you need to be rationally and logically appearing’.
“Selecting the brains of all the great folks that I work with right here in Mercedes is essential earlier than coming to a closing determination. That call was made was with Ola [Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz) and in the room with Gwen [Lagrue], who runs our junior programme, James Allison, Bradley Lord and simply to substantiate my first preliminary intuition.”
