Toto Wolff Owes Lewis Hamilton the 8th Championship, Yet 7X Champ Made the Ferrari Move

Lewis Hamilton has won all of his seven world titles behind a Mercedes engine. Yet, he decided to switch to Ferrari in 2025 without even driving the all-new W15. Whether he lost his confidence in Mercedes or saw some exciting new development at Ferrari, no one knows for sure. However, it was a bold move on Hamilton’s part to leave a team where he was at the center and then go to a team that is fully built around Charles Leclerc. His move even surprised his team boss and long-time friend Toto Wolff, who, in the freshly released Season 6 of the Netflix documentary, ‘Drive To Survive’, admitted that he owed Lewis Hamilton his 8th championship.

When Lewis was asked why he chose Ferrari over Mercedes for 2025 and beyond, the 7-time champion said that it was his “childhood dream“ to drive the famous Ferrari red cars. And even if he doesn’t win his 8th championship with the Scuderia, he’ll still go down in history as one of the greatest drivers to ever race in Formula 1.

Toto Wolff believes providing Lewis Hamilton and George Russell a good car is a priority

The highly anticipated Season 6 of ‘Drive To Survive’ just dropped in on Netflix today, and Wolff’s remark on how he owes Lewis his 8th championship makes you feel for the Austrian knowing that he got to know about Lewis’ move to Ferrari just one day before the official announcement.

“I believe that our lineup, Lewis [Hamilton] and George [Russell], is the strongest lineup in Formula 1. We owe it to them for Lewis to win an eighth championship, and for George to win his first. To provide them with a good car, that’s the minimum,“ said the Mercedes Team Boss in episode 1. But it’s Lewis Hamilton who gives us the full picture of how he struggled with Mercedes in 2023. According to Hamilton, he had expressed his worries to the Mercedes team from the outset, emphasizing the need for changes to avoid a downward trajectory in performance.

However, Mercedes dismissed his concerns, stating that they knew what they were doing and suggesting that Hamilton was mistaken. “Please, please do something about it,“ Hamilton said to the team about his concerns for the W14. “I remember they said, like, ‘We know what we’re doing, you’re wrong’,” he added. For a 7-time champion to be called out like that must have been hard for him to take. But the team eventually realized he was right after all.

READ MORE: F1 News: Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Special Personality’ Will Be No Good at Ferrari as Ex-F1 Driver Highlights Serious Challenge

With pre-season testing underway, Wolff was asked by a pit lane reporter about the timing of Hamilton’s move.

Toto Wolff denies answering if Lewis should have driven the W15 before choosing Ferrari

The 2024 season is underway as we’re on Day 3 of the pre-season testing in Bahrain. Lewis Hamilton got the first taste of the new W15 on Day 2 as he racked up 123 laps. Ted Kravitz got a chance to speak to Toto Wolff in the pitlane and asked him if he believed Lewis should have at least tried the car before choosing to leave the team.

But Wolff sidestepped the question, only to acknowledge Hamilton’s bold decision. “I think he’s taken his decision over the winter to join Ferrari and there’s benefits of keeping it to yourself and then deciding maybe at a later stage. But then also if you have set your mind and you are sailing, that’s okay,” said the Mercedes Team Boss.

What do you think? Should Lewis have waited to try out the W15 or did he make the right choice? Share your insights in the comments down below.