Toto Wolff pinpoints the biggest thing he’s learned from Lewis Hamilton in his 12 years at Mercedes

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One of the most successful relationships in recent F1 history will come to an end following the 2024 season as Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes after 12 years.

The seven-time world champion shocked the world as he announced in February that he would be moving to Ferrari on a multi-year deal to partner Charles Leclerc.

The move will likely be Hamilton’s last in F1 as he searches for a record-breaking eighth world championship to add to the other accolades that he has collected that make him statistically the greatest driver of all time. A Mercedes insider says Hamilton has a ‘very clear’ idea of when he wants to retire as he hopes to leave F1 with no regrets.

Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013 and went on one of the most dominant runs in F1 history. With Toto Wolff at the helm, the Brit won six of his seven titles with the Silver Arrows, as well as becoming the most winningest driver in the sport’s history with the team.

The news that Hamilton was moving to Ferrari came a surprise to fans and pundits alike, and also to the Mercedes boss, as Wolff messaged his friend and rival Frederic Vasseur to see if the rumours were true. With such big news to come to terms with, Wolff received advice from Pep Guardiola as the Spaniard has vast experience in dealing with huge transfers as Manchester City manager.

Toto Wolff reflects on what made his friendship with Lewis Hamilton ‘so strong’

Talking on the High Performance podcast, the Austrian reflected on the years he has spent with Hamilton and outlined the ‘biggest thing’ he has learned from the 39-year-old through working together.

Wolff spoke of how he and the seven-time champion learned to talks things out, particularly when Hamilton lost the 2016 title to his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. It was these moments, according to the 52-year-old, that his relationship with Hamilton ‘so strong’.

READ MORE: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

“The constant self-development,” he said when asked what was the biggest thing he learned from Hamilton. “Not only in professional function, for him it’s the driving, for me it’s maybe running the team.

“But also how he embraced this personal change. There was a moment where we had a really difficult time in 2016 after Nico won the championship and we didn’t talk to each other for a few weeks and then he came to my home because I said: ‘we have to talk.’

“And we spent many hours and we came out of this discussion, it was before the Christmas party, so strong. That was the foundation of our friendship and relationship in the years to come.

“But what I said to him is: ‘we cannot not speak to each other. If there’s something that annoys us, you just have to pick up the phone, you have to tell me. And I’ll promise to do the same.”

Lewis Hamilton’s farewell season with Mercedes is not going as expected

The 2024 season has been a rocky year for the Silver Arrows and they once again struggle to find consistent performance in their machinery in the ground effect era.

Hamilton grabbed his first win in two and a half years at the British Grand Prix – a ninth victory at Silverstone – and followed it up with his 105th Grand Prix with at Spa after teammate George Russell was disqualified.

But despite this, the seven-time champion is nowhere near the fight for the title as he sits seventh in the standings, two points behind Russell and over 200 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen. Mercedes are a lonely fourth in the constructors’ standings as they sit over 300 points ahead of Aston Martin in fifth but over 150 points behind Red Bull in third.

Mercedes bought their last major upgrade to the car at the US Grand Prix as they look to address their problems ahead of the 2025 season. Italian teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli will replace Hamilton next year as he continues his meteoric rise through the ranks.