Toto Wolff, Mercedes F1 chief, believes his relationship with Lewis Hamilton hit rock bottom when the British driver
missed out on the world title in 2016, but a Christmas party in his kitchen turned things around.
Hamilton’s then-teammate Nico Rosberg had beaten the now-seven-time champion to the overall prize, raising
questions about whether he wanted to stay with the German team.
But Wolff says he was able to persuade his star man to come to his Oxfordshire house for key discussions, albeit
“reluctantly”.
“I said we need to decide whether we want to work together or not,” Wolff told The Times.
“You want to win as a driver, but I want to win as a team. Conflicts may arise due to conflicting goals, and it’s
important to consider how to handle them.We were inside my kitchen. I told him, and Susie didn’t like the analogy,
that even if Susie and I disagreed on something, I would never consider divorce. ‘And it’s the same for you, Lewis,’ I
said. ‘I do not want a divorce. You are the best driver. I want you in our automobile, and we want to provide you the
best car.’
“We started this conversation at odds, but after four or five hours in the kitchen, we found ourselves on a completely
different level.
Wolff claims the animosity between Hamilton and Rosberg became so toxic that he had to bring them back down to
earth when they clashed on the closing lap of the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, causing the drivers to face their boss’s
anger for the first time.
