Toto Wolff reiterates that his relation with Frederic Vasseur remains good, as he adds further on tackling Lewis Hamilton situation.
Ever since the news broke about Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari from F1 2025 onward, it has certainly created a new situation for everybody, especially Wolff. The Austrian now has to manage not only the driver but also the team in 2024.
It is a tricky situation considering that Mercedes will have to be smart to not reveal much details about their car to Hamilton despite the trust. Its been weeks already but Wolff has a year to go to with it where there will be unexpected situations certainly.
“The morale in the team, let’s say the dynamics we have this year, it has been over the winter, it has been great,’ said Wolff in press conference. “We spent a lot of time trying to look to introspect. And say what is it that we can do better. And what we see is an organisation that is really buzzing and is keen to fight.
“And develop a car that is quicker, whilst sticking to our mindset and to our values. This is something we want to deliver this year. It may have been awkward at the beginning of how are we doing this for the rest of the season, but now everything has fallen into place. And it is just a concentration of the moment. And the next race is to come.
“I think when the news broke, clearly it is a new situation. It is something that we did not anticipate happening at that stage of the season. And it is a new dynamic. It is something we have to work on. But having said that, we have been together, spent some time in the factory and various events. And it is absolutely fine on a human level.
“It is also in professional terms. We have a full season to go, we want to have the best competitive car. Those drivers given the opportunity to do the best possible results. How great would it be to finish on a high with Lewis this year. We have had some wonderful times, ten more months to go and we will give it up,” summed up Wolff.
With regards to his relation with Vasseur, it hasn’t changed as Wolff states. Although, the Frenchman did not respond to his Whatsapp initially when the rumours started to float, but the Austrian understood the situation where Hamilton wanted to convey the news first.
“When I sent Fred a WhatsApp two days before, he didn’t reply,” recalled Wolff. “So I guess I knew. But then, no, Fred didn’t tell me. Lewis felt that he wanted to tell me first. As for Fred, he didn’t do a good job. You know, we are friends since a long time. And in the same way we acknowledge that we are competitors on tracks.
“So that is a balancing act that is not always easy. Because we have the duty and the obligation to perform to the best of our abilities. For the interest of our team. And this is what Fred has done in that situation. I understand the rationale. Obviously it is not always easy in such a good relationship. How to handle that. But it has no effects or repercussions on the relationship that I had with Fred. And that I will have with Fred,” summed up Wolff.
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