Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes after a decade of success wasn’t just about finding a new challenge at Ferrari; it was also deeply emotional. According to Matt Whyman, author of Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane, Hamilton made sure he handled the transition with care.
According to Whyman, Hamilton reflected on the regret he felt when he left McLaren at the end of 2012, revealing that he informed the team of his decision by phone or email while he was in Thailand. Looking back, he considered that move impersonal and felt he owed his Mercedes team a better farewell.
“He [Hamilton] felt that the right thing to do was to go and see Toto [Wolff],” Whyman revealed in an interview with talkSPORT Driving. “When he left McLaren, he said that he didn’t do that, he was in Thailand I think, and did it by phone or email or whatever and felt that that was, in retrospect, it wasn’t the right thing to do. So he knew that it had to be face-to-face.”
Even after the in-person meeting with Wolff, the challenge wasn’t over as Hamilton had planned a team paintballing session before the start of the 2024 season as a way to bond and let off steam. This happened to fall right after he had broken the news to Wolff.
When Hamilton arrived at the venue, he found his team already waiting. Overwhelmed by the weight of what he had to say, he sat in his car for 20 minutes and was frozen with nerves. Whyman shared how Hamilton described that moment: “He said he couldn’t get out of the car…just sat there so sort of frozen with, ‘How am I going to tell these people?’”
Hamilton decided to leave Mercedes all on his own
For Hamilton, the decision to move to Ferrari was a deeply personal one and it was something he mulled over during the winter break after the 2023 season. Whyman revealed that it was something the 39-year-old decided on his own, without seeking advice from others.
At the heart of his decision was a simple and powerful reason — he didn’t want to end his career with regrets. “He told me that it was something that he thought about over the winter…it all boiled down to the simple thing that he didn’t want to retire and look back on his career…and say to himself, ‘But I never raced for Ferrari,’” Whyman added.
| Author of Mercedes’ new book reveals what Lewis Hamilton said to him about his decision to move to Ferrari :
“I asked him directly what was going on and he just said, ‘It is every kid’s dream who gets involved in motor racing to race a Ferrari, and that is it – I did not… pic.twitter.com/4Fmsie3oAW
— sim (@sim3744) November 7, 2024
In what could very well be his last stint in Formula 1 before retirement, Hamilton has a golden chance to cement his legacy with the most iconic team in the history of the sport. The big question is if he can win a record-breaking eighth title with the Prancing Horse.
