Toto Wolff shares the advice Lewis Hamilton gave him that ‘changed’ his approach at Mercedes

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Mercedes have changed a lot in the past few years, much of it due to Lewis Hamilton’s exit from the team. But his advice has influenced a change of mentality in Toto Wolff.

Wolff and Hamilton dominated F1 with Mercedes in the turbo-hybrid era, with the team winning eight consecutive constructors’ championships between 2014 and 2021. But the ground-effect era brought that streak to a dramatic end.

Mercedes started to annoy Hamilton as they could not provide him with a competitive car, nor could he get comfortable with the regulation changes. It eventually led to him joining Ferrari, which ultimately had a significant effect on the Silver Arrows.

How badly will Toto Wolff regret Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari if Mercedes do not win the 2026 title?

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Toto Wolff learned from Lewis Hamilton that he needs to adapt and find new ways to improve

Under the 2026 regulations, Mercedes have had a resurgence. Having built the fastest package, Kimi Antonelli leads the championship by 41 points over Hamilton.

Mercedes have changed drastically from the last time they battled for the title, and Wolff credits Hamilton for making him realise that he needed to adapt to circumstances and develop a new approach.

He told TSN: “I strongly believe that, and something that I took on board from Lewis, that you can, even as adults, we’re not the finished deal.

“We can learn, we can develop, we can get better, we can also get worse. But I believe that doing the job that I do, I need to adapt to circumstances and over the course of those years, I’ve definitely changed.

“I’ve been a pressure cooker at the beginning and then you’re faced with a situation that all of us were pushing so hard, but it wasn’t enough to win a championship.

“So you need to reset yourself in a different way and say, ‘What is it I need to do differently to extract most of the performance, out of the people and the resources?’”

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

Could Lewis Hamilton deny Toto Wolff the 2026 title?

Mercedes looked nailed on for the 2026 championship after winning the first six races. But Hamilton’s win in Barcelona and the Silver Arrows’ reliability issues have put Ferrari firmly in the mix.

The Maranello outfit are making huge strides forward in development, while Mercedes are struggling to solve their battery issues. Wolff even hinted at team orders, as George Russell and Antonelli’s battle in Barcelona also cost them time.

Wolff knows he must control his drivers if he wants any chance of beating Hamilton. The seven-time champion reinvigorated in 2026, and will do everything to win that record eighth title.