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5最新开奖结果:Nico Rosberg when he visited Wolff’s home for crucial talks.
That meeting has beenꦫ remembered by Wolff amid the ongoing negotiations to tie Hamilton to Mercedes beyond the end of this season.
“A ke🌜y moment was at the end of 2016 where we didn’t speak to each other for a while,” the Mercedes team principal tol🗹d .
“So I invited him to come to my kitchen in Ox💫ford and sit down a♊nd have a chat.
“The kind of analogy I gave to him♎ is that also I have arguments with Susie [Wolff, his wife].
“Even if we shout [at] each other, which doesn’t happ🌼en a lot, but even if we have these arguments, there’s never thought of divorcing𓂃.
“And that’s why I said to him ‘I don’t want to divorce you, and neither do you, because I want the 𓆏best racing drivers in our cars and you want to have the best car’.
“So we came to the conclusion that we can have conflicts, we can create an atmosphere where𒐪 we are able to bꦉe brutally honest with each other.
“And sometimes🌱 we agree to disagree, but we move on.”
Hamilton went o🐓n to claim his fourth F1 title the following season, and now holds a joint-r🦹ecord 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 outrig🔥ht record of 𝔍eight titles, but retains faith in Mercedes despite two drab years.
Wolff was 🐲asked if he hopes Hamilton🍌 stays, and said: “Absolutely. He’s such an important pillar of the team.”
Do you think he will?
“I very ♒much hoﷺpe,” Wolff replied. “I’m doing everything I can to make him stay.”
Asked how he is trying to persu🎶ade Hamilton, Wolff answered: “I think there’s no need to persua🔴de him.
“He knཧows about all the goodness and although we str💟uggled with the car this year and last year, he will be part of the resurrection of the team.”
ꦬHamilton and Wolff have regularly insisted th🎐at a new contract is a formality although it remains unsigned.
Wolff denied a report that they are negotiating a 10-year ambassadorial role for Ha🐬milton after his F1 retirement, as part of the contract talks.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sp꧃orts, to football, to F1.
