In Picture: Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (from Left)- Source: Getty Inages
Toto Wolff unraveled why Mercedes did not offer a long-term contract to their most successful driver, Lewis Hamilton. Through his comments in Mercedes' book Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane, Wolff discussed Silver Arrows looking at the bigger picture and deciding against offering a lengthy contract to a 39-year-old Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton signed a multi-million dollar contract with Ferrari in February this year. According to the contract, the seven-time world champion will move to the Prancing Horse next year to replace Williams-bound Carlos Sainz and drive alongside Charles Leclerc.
The announcement of Hamilton's move to Ferrari created ripples across the F1 fraternity, as he still had one more year of contract with Toto Wolff's team.
As per reports, Hamilton wanted a long-term contract at Mercedes, which the Silver Arrows did not agree to. As a result, they handed him a one-plus-one-year contract that covered 2024 and 2025. Hamilton signed the contract in late 2023 and around six months later, decided to move to Ferrari in 2025.
