Toto Wolff recalls ‘I don’t want to divorce you’ peace talks with Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton was reeling from losing the 2016 F1 championship to his teammate 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Nico Rosberg when he visited Wolff’s home for crucial talks.
That meeting has been remembered by Wolff amid the ongoin🐼g negotiations to tie Hamilton to Mercedes beyonꦇd the end of this season.
“A key moment was at the end of 2016 where we didn’t speak to each other for a while,” the Mercedes team pri♍ncipal told .
“So I invited him♑ to come to my kitchen in Oxford and sit down and have a chat.
“The kind of analogy I gave to him is that෴ also I ha🌄ve arguments with Susie [Wolff, his wife].
“Even if we shout [at] each other, which doesn’t happen a lot, but 𒁃even if we have these arguments, there’s never thought of divorcing.
“And that’s why I said to him ‘I don’t want to divorce you, and neither do you, because I want the best racing drivers in our cars and you want🐻 to have the best car’.
“So we came to the conclusion that we can ha෴ve conflicts, we can create an atmosphere where we are able to be brut✱ally honest with each other.
“And sometimes we agree to💮 disagree, but we move on.”
Ha𒅌milton went on to claim his fourth F1 title the following season, and now holds a joint-record seven, although dominance has shifted to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who is cruising towards his third in a row.
Hamilton, 38, knows time♚ is running out to secure the outright record of eight titles, but retains faith in Mercedes despite two drab years.
Wol🌱ff was asked if he hopes Hamilton stays, and said: “Absolutelꦗy. He’s such an important pillar of the team.”
Do you think he will?
“I very much hope,” Wolff replied. “I’m doi💎ng everything I can to make him stay.”
Asked how he is trying to persuade Hamilton, Wolfꦓf answered: “I think there’s no need to persuade him.
“He knows about all the goodness and although we stru🌺ggled with the car this year an﷽d last year, he will be part of the resurrection of the team.”
Hamilton and Wolff have regularly insisted that a new contract is a formality although it remains ⭕un🔯signed.
Wolff denied a report that they are negotiating a 10-year ambassadorial role for Hamilton after his F1 retirement, as par𝔍t of the contract talks.
James was a sports 𒁃journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering every🎐thing from American sports, to football, to F1.
