Mercedes boss Toto Wolff opens up on relationship with Lewis Hamilton since F1 star decided to switch to Ferrari

TOTO WOLFF is confident Lewis Hamilton’s defection to Ferrari will not harm their chances this season.

The Mercedes boss was stunned to discover his driver was quitting his team to join the Italian outfit for next season.

AP

Wolff admits Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari came as a shock – but he is fully focused on giving Hamilton a successful car ahead of the new season[/caption]

Hamilton, 39, dropped the bombshell to Wolff over breakfast at the Austrian’s home in Oxford.

But now, having had time to contemplate the seven-time world champion’s departure, Wolff says it will not derail his team’s performances this season.

He said: “When the news broke, clearly it was a new situation. It’s something that we didn’t anticipate happening at that stage of the season and is a new dynamic and that’s clearly something we would have to work on.

“But having said that, we’ve been together, spent some time in the factory and been at various events and it’s absolutely fine on a human level.

“In professional terms, we have a full season to go. We want to have the best competitive car and give both drivers the opportunity to get the best possible results.

“How great would it be to finish on a high with Lewis this year. We’ve had several wonderful times and 10 more months to go and we will give it our all.”

Speaking at pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of the season-opener, Wolff reiterated that Mercedes are determined to take the fight to Red Bull having lost their constructors’ title to them last season.

He added: “The morale in the team and the dynamics we have this year over the winter has been great.

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“We spent a lot of time trying to look introspectively to see what we can do better.

“What we’ve seen is an organisation that is really buzzing and is keen to fight and develop a car that is quicker while sticking to our mindset and our values.

“That is something we want to deliver this year. It is just a concentration of the moment and the next race is to come.”