25 May 2024 , 13:09
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Toto Wolff has no doubt Lewis Hamilton can finally win an eighth Formula 1 title with Ferrari.
It is something that has eluded him for four seasons now with Mercedes. Hamilton became a seven-time F1 champion in 2020 but Max Verstappen then got the better of him at the end of a controversial fight in the second half of 2021.
Mercedes have dropped down the pecking order since and have not given Hamilton a car capable of challenging for glory. Before the start of this season, the Briton decided to start afresh elsewhere and agreed a deal to join Ferrari next term.
That came after team principal Wolff told Netflix cameras that he could not imagine Hamilton racing in red. That comment was aired when that season of Drive to Survive was released just a few weeks after news of the 39-year-old's Ferrari switch.
Speaking to the Press Association, Wolff said: "That is what [Hamilton] said to me. He said he was going to stay and then he decided to go. But people change their minds and circumstances change and you have to respect that. Today's opinion might be different tomorrow and I have no hard feelings."
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Wolff regrets that his team has not been able to give Hamilton a machine capable of taking the fight to Verstappen and Red Bull. He must now continue his efforts to restore the team to its former glory without its most successful driver.
And the Austrian has no doubt that Hamilton will be able to fight for the title again before he eventually retires from racing in F1. He said: "If Ferrari is able to give Lewis a competitive car, he can win a world championship, there is no doubt about that.
"I will always have a personal relationship with Lewis and I will look back at the great times, professionally and personally. When Lewis moves to Ferrari he becomes a competitor but I will always wish him happy days."
Teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been picked by Hamilton as the driver he would prefer to take his place when he leaves Mercedes. Wolff loves the 17-year-old but is still hoping he can convince Verstappen to walk away from Red Bull and lead the Silver Arrows' charge.
He said: "Max is not going to get in a car that is not competitive and at the moment we are not competitive enough to lure a world champion. But we have to see how the next months go. Look at McLaren. If we can put four tenths on the car, we will be very competitive. I have to wait for the moment. There is no urgency."