Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed it was Carlos Sainz Sr. that informed him Lewis Hamilton was joining Ferrari, the Spaniard apparently privy to the situation as his son Carlos Jr. was making way for the seven-time Formula 1 champion.
Hamilton and Ferrari announced the move of the century in F1 back in February. It came as a shock for many despite rumors and speculation about it for a long time before it actually went down.
With Mercedes releasing a new book, Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane, some details have been uncovered about Hamilton's move to Ferrari.
And while Wolff claimed in the book that he was relieved the decision to part ways came from Hamilton, he now gave some more details about the move while speaking to the High Performance Podcast.
Looking back, Wolff said: "So I heard the bells ringing two weeks before. Yeah, the old man Sainz called me and said, this is what's happening.
"And then there were a few drivers' dads rang me up that didn't before. So I thought, Okay…there's something going on there.
"And then I sent a text to [Ferrari boss] Fred Vasseur saying: 'You're taking our driver?' Didn't get any response. Very unusual for Fred. He's a good friend. So yeah, I saw it coming," he added.
It's just a new situation
The Austrian, who shared a strong relationship with Hamilton, went on saying that he tried to rattle the driver by telling him Mercedes were getting some technical staff from Ferrari; their former design boss, Simone Resta, in particular.
He went on: "When Lewis arrived in the house, like he did so many years before, we had a bit of a small talk, like we always do about the Christmas holidays and all of that.
"Then I said, 'Well, we're recruiting from Ferrari now. We got this guy.' And Lewis was, 'Oh, there's something I need to tell you.' And yeah, when he said that, that initial moment was a little bit of... so this is really happening?"
However, Wolff insisted Hamilton's decision to leave was not the worst thing he's had to deal with; he continued: "Well, I had much worse in my life, happening, like real drama and trauma. This is not even moving the needle.
"It's just a new situation. It has risks and opportunities, risks in the sense of how do I inform the sponsors as quickly as possible? Because it was leaking... And on the other side, what are we doing about next year?" the Mercedes boss concluded.
Wolff has taken the decision to replace Hamilton with Mercedes protégé Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will be George Russell's teammate in 2025.
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