A little more than 12 months ago in Austin Texas, Lewis Hamilton was talking up the prospects of a new 5 year Formula One driver deal with Mercedes. “I’m planning to do a multi-year deal with my team,” Hamilton told assembled reporters at the circuit of the America’s. “I really, really don’t know what the next five years (hold). I think we’re still trying to work on that.”

Then several weeks later came the infamous Forbes report – allegedly leaked by lewis’ management team – that the seven times world champion had also requested a ten year ambassadorial with the German automotive brand. This would have seen Lewis Hamilton sign a final ‘legacy’ F1 contract with Mercedes for over half a billion dollars and bring down the curtain on one of the most successful partnerships ever seen in F1. 

 

 

 

Wolff explains why no 5 year Hamilton deal

Yet the deal which Toto implied would take a few hours in a room to sort out last January never came. For month after month both Mercedes and Hamilton insisted they were negotiating the fine minutia of the driver’s deal.

Then the bombshell was dropped. Lewis Hamilton was announced to have signed just a two year contract along with his team mate George Russell . Yet as always nothing is straight forward in F1 driver arrangements, as this website suggested at the time it was in fact most likely Hamilton had negotiated a one year contract with options on the back of it.

But this was denied by Toto Wolff who went to lengths explaining why the expected 5 year deal had not been signed.

“It comes from both sides experiencing change in this age,” said the Mercedes boss. “This is a dynamic environment so signing a five year contract means you have to discuss any escape clause in case we’re not providing him with a car that’s not performing.

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Lewis keen to say, ‘this was not my last contract’

“So we didn’t entertain that we said the foreseeable future is two years and that’s what we are committing to,” revealed Wolff.

The problem now with that explanation is that the problematic escape clauses to which Wolff refers in fact remained in the much diluted two year deal. The clauses were too problematic for a 5 year deal but not for one lasting just two?

When the new shiny Mercedes driver contracts were announced, instead of a joyous Lewis Hamilton the assembled media were greeted with an ex-world champion smiling through gritted teeth for the cameras and going to lengths to explain this contract would not in fact be his last.

Why was this so important to Lewis? Did he feel denied by Mercedes in being guaranteed just one more year with the team to which he brought fame and glory? Clearly Toto Wolff was at best ambiguous over why Hamilton did not get his 5 year deal and misrepresented the details over the escape clauses.

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Horner said Hamilton had spoken to Ferrari

Well clearly “Hell hath no fury” not just like a “woman scorned” but also by an F1 driver who didn’t get his legacy demands. A 10 year ambassador role for Mercedes and another five years racing guaranteed by the team had fallen by the wayside.

Prior to last seasons’s finale in Abu Dhabi, Christian Horner revealed somewhat mischievously to the world that a representative from the Lewis Hamilton camp had approached Red Bull during the nigh on 8 month negotiations he was conducting with Mercedes.

There was a big ho ha about it during the Grand Prix weekend with Hamilton making a non-denial denial confusing reporters with an elongated tale of him picking up and old phone and having thousands of messages to repost to.

Yet interestingly the Red Bull boss also dropped into his media interview that Hamilton had held extensive talks with Ferrari chairman John Elkann together with F1 team boss Fred Vasseur as well.

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Hamilton denials convoluted and vague

Lewis implied Christian Horner had fabricated the story about him and explained his thinking stating: “If you really think about it, there are a lot of people here that like to drop my name in many conversations because they know it’s going to make waves,” which was another fanciful response from Hamilton over the entire leaked affair.

Now the truth is out. Of course Hamilton had talks with Red Bull and Ferrari given he had fallen out of love with his own team and believed his engineers were barking up the wrong treee in terms of the Mercedes car philosophy.

Hamilton was angry with former Mercedes technical director for failing to change the fundamental car design from 2022/23. He aired his views publicly without naming names calling for “accountability” and suggesting “they did not listen to me.”

Soon after Elliot was removed and James Allison replaced him. Allison had overseen the Mercedes F1 car design and build during a number of the glory years and this was a comfort to Lewis. Not long after the Allison announcement came the one from Lewis apparently committing himself to Mercedes for another two years.

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Mercedes 2024 car simulation data disappointing?

So what happened in the five short months between the ink drying on the Stuttgart prepared parchment and the announcement this week that Lewis is ditching Mercedes for Ferrari next season?

When the dust settled following Mercedes reorganisation of its technical directors clearly nothing had changed for Lewis and his confidence the team can return to winning ways has obviously evaporated.

In the intervening months Hamilton will have seen the simulation data from the new 2025 Mercedes f1 challenger and it appears he believes it is not enough to compete with Red Bull.

Not only that but the relationship with Toto has clearly broken down despite all the fine words spoken following Hamilton announcing his departure for Ferrari. Wolff makes it clear he was shocked by the timing of the announcement.

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Wolff admits SHOCK at timing

“In a way, Formula One and my previous life have made me impervious to surprises. I’ve been confronted so many times in my life with black swans that it was a surprise, but as I said before we went open-eyed into this phase of our relationship,” said the Mercedes boss yesterday.

“When we re-signed the contract with Lewis we opted for a shorter term, so the events are not a surprise, but maybe the timing is,” Wolff said.

The timing of the Hamilton bombshell is clearly an issue for the team as they are just three weeks away from the pre-season testing and les than a month from the first Grand Prix of the year.

Wolff now faces a raft of problems as he admitted: “OK, what are we doing about communications? What’s the timing? How do we protect the team best? And how do we protect this 2024 year to be successful together with our two drivers without causing too much awkwardness?”

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Troublesome year ahead for Mercedes

Of course with Hamilton leaving, Russell will now step up to the plate as the future face of Mercedes F1 racing. Will the strategy calls during races now favour George and will Hamilton one team orders when they are issued? there is a real risk the team will revert to the chaotic on track relationship between its drivers last seen when Lewis raced against Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton now having been head hunted by Ferrari will create another year of turbulence for the team which once rode supreme on top of the F1 world.

Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari is not difficult to understand. The iconic Maranello red liveried cars are the very embodiment of what Formula One history has come to represent.

Sainz with Red Bull

 

 

 

Cruel timing an indication of Hamilton’s true feelings

Yet there remains the suspicion this announcement and its timing have been designed to cause Mercedes maximum pain and the root may lie in Hamilton’s feelings of resentment over the failed contract negotiations he suffered during most of the 2023 season.

Clearly Toto Wolff believes Hamilton could have done better by the team when he told the BBC, “In the future, we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way or not, but I hold no grudge.”

But in the end, the very thing Toto Wolff denied was a problem when announcing Lewis’ new deal, became the exit route out of Mercedes as Lewis chases the dream eight world title – escape clauses.

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