Toto Wolff has claimed 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari ‘helped’ the t⭕eam avoid having an awkward conversation about the seven-time world champion's future.

While 🐬Hamilton’s shock switch for F1 2025 was an♓nounced in February, new reaction to it has emerged in Mercedes’ new all-access book ‘Inside Mercedes F1: Life in the Fast Lane’.

The book follows the team throughout♕ their inconsistent 🐼2023 campaign - and the start of 2024.

Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari is also covered, with Wolff effectively suggesting they only off🔥ered the seven-time world champion a 1+1 deal due to concerns about his competitiveness into his 40s.

“There’s a reason why we only signed a one-plus-on🔯e-year contract,” Wolღff said of Hamilton.

“We’re in a ไsport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has a shelf life.

“So 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.”

Wolff admitted the timing of Hamilton’s move meant Mercedes couldn’t negotiate with Lando Norris or Charles Leclerc as both drivers꧒ pre-empted the news by signing new de▨als with McLaren and Ferrari respectively.

Wolff ultimately opted to promote 18-ye💧ar-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Hamilꦉton's replacement for 2025.

“I absolutely had it on my radar that Lewis would go,” he added. “I just couldn’t understand why he’d change to another tea💃m ♊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 ne💜gotiating with other drivers 𓄧who had signed contracts a few weeks earlier like Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

“[But] I like the situation,” he continues. “It helps us because it avoids the moment where we need to tell the spo🦩rt’s most iconic driver that we want to stop.”