Toto Wolff doesn't seem really bothered that Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes, as the Briton's decision to join Ferrari sank in over nine months since the move was confirmed.
Back in February, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton sent shockwaves through the sport when he announced his plans to leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season to race for Ferrari in 2025.
Mercedes launched a book, Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane, that covers the team's 2023 F1 season as well as their current campaign up to the 2024 British Grand Prix, a race Hamilton famously won.
Commenting on Hamilton's departure, Wolff now believes it might have been a good thing as he and the team did not have to go through the ignominy of having to ask their iconic driver to leave once he starts losing his touch, especially since he is now 39 years old.
Speaking to the book's author, Matt Whyman, Wolff said: "Everyone has a shelf life. We're in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important.
"I absolutely had it on my radar that Lewis would go. I just couldn't understand why he'd change to another team before we knew if we were going to be competitive.
"It also didn't give me any time to react, I had to emergency call our partners, and I possibly missed out on negotiating with other drivers who had signed contracts a few weeks earlier like Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.
"I like the situation. It helps us because it avoids the moment where we need to tell the sport's most iconic driver that we want to stop," the Austrian pointed out.
Since Hamilton's departure, Mercedes have fast-tracked protégé Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will now partner George Russell at the team in Mercedes after skipping Formula 3 and one season in Formula 2.
Wolff explained his decision; he added: "I need to look at the next generation. It's the same in football.
"Managers like Sir Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola, they anticipated it in the performance of their top stars and brought in junior players that drove the team for the next years," he concluded.
Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013, won 84 races, and six of his F1 titles with them. He has won twice this season; in Britain and Belgium.
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