Wolff had to rebuild Hamilton “trust” after 2016 title defeat to Rosberg
Hamilton and Rosberg famously went head-to-head for the 2016 title, with the German ultimately coming out on top.
It proved to be a difficult season for Hamilton, who lost the title mainly due to a run of Mercedes engine-related issues.
After his most notable failure at the Malaysian Grand Prix - the race he was leading and had he not suffered the DNF, would have most likely won the title - Hamilton hit out at his own team.
He said at the time: “Someone doesn’t want me to win this year. My question is to Mercedes. We have so many engines made but mine are the only ones failing this year.”
Hamilton’s complaints also stemmed from the fact Mercedes decided to do a complete overhaul in terms of which mechanics worked on which car.
Effectively, Hamilton’s mechanics from 2013 to 2015 moved over to Rosberg’s car and vice versa.
In an interview with ESPN, Wolff spoke about his relationship with Hamilton and the importance of trust.
“Trust is a bit of a topic for him and me, and you need to earn trust, test it, and only then can you trust and we built it up over the years," he said.
"We had some tough moments, like in 2016 [when Hamilton lost the title to teammate Nico Rosberg, but we tackled it right away.
“It's like [what] I have with Susie [Wolff, Toto's wife], if I have an issue you pick up the phone immediately and speak. Everything is being discussed and you clear the air, or you agree to disagree.
“And with him since then we have been super strong.”
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