Toto Wolff not worried Lewis Hamilton could take sensitive Mercedes information to Ferrari
The prospect of Lewis Hamilton taking sensitive Mercedes F1 information to Ferrari is "not something that bothers" Toto Wolff.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has no concerns that Lewis Hamilton could share sensitive information with Ferrari when he completes his shock F1 transfer.
Hamilton is entering his final season with Mercedes ahead of a blockbuster switch to Ferrari for 2025 after the seven-time world champion activated a break clause within his current deal.
Mercedes may be about to lose their star driver but Wolff isn’t concerned that Hamilton could take sensitive information to his new employer, insisting he has no doubts about the 39-year-old’s integrity.
“In terms of development going forward, it’s something we need to look at. When it comes to 2025 we will evaluate later in the season what it means in terms of technical information,” Wolff told media including Crash.net last week.
“But it’s not something that bothers me at all. We have engineers that go to other teams and the notice periods are sometimes as short as six months.
“I don’t have any doubt in Lewis’ integrity in terms of sharing information. We want to make sure that this is a successful season for both drivers and for Mercedes and all of us will give our utmost to achieve that.”
Wolff stressed Mercedes will continue to give both Hamilton and George Russell equal treatment in 2024, despite the former’s impending departure.
“I’ve always tried to be transparent and fair and nothing’s going to change in that respect in 2024,” he explained. “We owe it to our principals and our racing intent and I will ensure that the drivers respect that.”
Wolff admitted it is “definitely a new situation to manage for Lewis” and Mercedes.
“But it is something that when you focus on the really short term, and this is the racing team that is being deployed to run the product, it doesn’t have a big impact on everything that has happened going forward on the development side,” he added.
“I’m always interested in new and challenging situations, and balancing 2024 Mercedes interests versus 2025 driver interests is something we will openly discuss at the beginning about how to manage and for sure come to a good outcome about how to manage.”
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