Hamilton ‘loves’ Wolff’s “fighting spirit” in intense F1 title fight

Wolff was left angered by what he felt had been unfair treatment of Mercedes during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, with Hamilton thrown out of qualifying on Friday in Brazil due to a technical infringement. 

In Sunday’s race, the stewards decided not to investigate Max Verstappen for an aggressive defensive manoeuvre against Hamilton as they battled for the lead, something Wolff called “laughable”. 

Wolff went on to declare that “diplomacy has ended” amid Mercedes and Red Bull’s title battle after claiming his team had been hit by “many punches in the face” over the weekend. 

A video of Wolff’s passionate reaction to Hamilton’s successful pass on Verstappen that completed a stunning fightback victory in Brazil went vital, much to the amusement of the seven-time world champion. 

A mood pic.twitter.com/mq2Om786Lf

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 14, 2021

“I love seeing Toto's fighting spirit, it makes me so happy,” Hamilton said on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix. 

“There's a shot I saw of him at the last race and it just made me laugh inside, it was so good.

“If Toto cared less and was just chill, it just wouldn’t be... that fire and passion is a part of our infrastructure and our ecosystem and it trickles down from him. 

“He’s the leader of the team and you want that in your boss, someone that's out there pushing and chasing every millisecond with you along the way.

“So I love that he stands for what he thinks is right. We've grown hugely  close over these years, as we will continue to do.”

Asked if he feels tensions could boil over and risk overshadowing what has been a great season-long battle, Hamilton replied: “I don't think so. It's what sport is, right? “It's intense, the battle on and off-track. 

“I think there's no reason why, as men, it can't be discussed and figured out. I think at the end of the day it it definitely important that we remain respectful of each other, on and off-track."