Lewis Hamilton has been spending time with 120-win F1 team boss ‘away from races’ this season

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Lewis Hamilton is fighting with two of his former teams at the front of the grid. He’s looking to become only the second driver in the sport’s history to win titles with three different outfits.

McLaren, who gave Hamilton his debut in 2008, have finally returned to a dominant position in F1. The British driver has welcomed each step of their resurgence in recent years.

The iconic Woking squad had largely struggled since losing Hamilton at the end of 2012, but now they’re setting the benchmark for Ferrari to chase. A more realistic goal for the Scuderia this season is beating Mercedes to second place.

Ferrari are just 12 points ahead of the Silver Arrows at the halfway stage of the campaign. Their car has been slower on balance, but Mercedes have been overreliant on George Russell’s production while rookie Kimi Antonelli acclimatises.

Lewis Hamilton continues to spend time with Toto Wolff and wife Susie

Speaking to The Athletic, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recalled the moment he realised Hamilton’s exit was ‘real’. As the Austrian pointed out, their partnership had been the most successful – and the longest – in F1 history.

But when Wolff saw Hamilton posing in front of Enzo Ferrari’s house in January, he knew once and for all that the chapter was closed. It had been a difficult farewell for the seven-time world champion.

While he took an emotional victory at Silverstone, he endured what was statistically the worst season of his career, slipping out of the top six for the first time ever and struggling to keep up with teammate George Russell.

But Wolff is ‘very proud’ of how his departure, announced in the winter, was handled. He sees they remain ‘great friends’ and also confirmed to the publication that he spends time with Hamilton ‘away from races’, along with his wife Susie.

“I’m very proud of how we’ve kept the relationships even when it was tough, celebrated the 12 years that we had together, the longest relationship between a driver and the team, and the most successful one,” said Wolff.

“We went out of this as great friends, trusting friends, even though he’s in a red garage now and not in a black one anymore.

“Obviously that first photo in front of the Enzo house, that was, ‘OK, this is real…'”

What Lewis Hamilton would do if Ferrari tried to appoint Christian Horner

One imagines that Hamilton has the blessing of Ferrari, because ordinarily you wouldn’t expect a driver to socialise with the boss of a direct rival. The Scuderia will respect his close bond with his past employers.

Hamilton’s current team principal, Fred Vasseur, is under pressure. Ferrari may occupy the same position as they did last year, but they wanted to win the title, and they’ve not taken a single victory yet.

With his current deal up at the end of the season, there’s talk that Vasseur has been offered a one-year extension. That would perhaps indicate lingering doubts over the Frenchman.

Christian Horner, who has overseen 124 wins to Wolff’s 120, is now available. But it’s said that Hamilton would leave Ferrari if they replaced Vasseur with the former Red Bull boss.