Toto Wolff shares what he text Frederic Vasseur after hearing Lewis Hamilton was joining Ferrari

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Lewis Hamilton has three more Grand Prix to race in with Mercedes before he switches silver for red and moves to Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion shocked the world in February by announcing that he would be leaving the Silver Arrows after 12 years with the team. In that time, Hamilton won six of his titles and broke numerous records including most wins, podiums and pole positions of any F1 driver in history.

Toto Wolff says he was not surprised by Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes, as his contract was up at the end of the year and the one-year extension was optional. The Brit will move to Ferrari on a multi-year deal and partner Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton’s farewell season with the Brackley-based outfit has not met expectations as the team have again struggled to deliver a competitive car in the ground-effect era. Despite winning two races this season, including a record ninth win at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Hamilton has found it difficult to make sense of the W15.

The 39-year-old is currently sat seventh in the drivers’ championship after being overtaken by teammate George Russell following the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Hamilton failed to reach Q3 for either the Sprint or Sunday’s race and ended up finishing 10th in the Grand Prix, while his teammate was a contender for the win, ultimately finishing fourth.

Peter Windsor says Mercedes have ‘destroyed’ Hamilton’s confidence as the car has been underperforming for so long. The seven-time champion is able to hit the reset button in 2025 and embark on a new adventure with Ferrari.

Frederic Vasseur did not respond to Toto Wolff’s text after first hearing Lewis Hamilton was moving to Ferrari

Mercedes boss Wolff was tipped off by Carlos Sainz Snr about the news that Hamilton was heading for Ferrari. The Spaniard’s son – Carlos Sainz Jr – was in the final year of his deal with the Maranello squad.

The team likely informed Sainz that they were planning to bring in Hamilton, thus confirming his departure after four years. The 29-year-old ended up signing a deal with Williams until at least 2027.

Wolff caught wind of the rumours that Hamilton was leaving Mercedes and felt that ‘something was happening’ when he began to receive phone calls from drivers looking for the seat. Appearing on the High Performance Podcast, the Austrian revealed the text message he sent to Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur about what he had heard.

Wolff then received a ‘very unusual’ reply from the Frenchman, in that he did not get one at all.

“[I] sent a text to Fred Vasseur saying ‘you’re taking our driver?’ he said. “[I] didn’t get any response, very unusual for Fred. He’s a good friend.”

Will Lewis Hamilton’s gamble to join Ferrari pay off?

Despite making a step in the right direction with three wins thus far in 2024, Mercedes still find themselves a way behind their rivals. The Silver Arrows are a lonely fourth, sitting over 200 points behind the leaders McLaren and almost over 300 points ahead of Aston Martin in fifth.

With the way the 2024 season has gone, and not much set to change next season before the new technical regulations come into play in 2026, Hamilton’s gamble may actually pay off. Ferrari have found themselves challenging for the constructors’ championship with three races to go.

The Maranello outfit are second behind McLaren by 36 points having won three of the last six races. With their current performance, Hamilton will no doubt be looking on with excitement for the future, while Damon Hill believes that Sainz will be ‘basically crying’ with his departure pending.

Mercedes have taken a huge risk in promotion Italian teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton’s replacement. The 18-year-old is on a meteoric rise through the ranks and will make another big step up after impressing in Formula 2 this year.