Why Toto Wolff ‘hated’ Lewis Hamilton contract talks until key action was taken

Toto Wolff has revealed he “hated” contract talks with Lewis Hamilton as he felt it put their friendship on hold for two months.

Hamilton signed four contracts during his tenure at the Silver Arrows but negotiating such deals was never an easy task.

Toto Woll reveals Lewis Hamilton Mercedes contract difficulties

Even from the start when Mercedes had to convince Hamilton to leave McLaren for their new project, trying to get the Briton to put pen to paper was not always an easy deal.

And that difficulty continued even when Mercedes became the dominant force of F1 with the length of Hamilton’s deal getting shorter and shorter.

With those negotiations now Fred Vasseur’s problem, Wolff has revealed how he “hated” contract talks as he felt it put his friendship with Hamilton on hold.

“It always makes things more complicated when you negotiate with someone who is your ally,” Wolff told Formula.hu. “Someone whose goals are very close to yours.

“For example, Lewis and I, that was always a problem. We were best friends for two and a half years, we agreed 100 percent, we shared our private lives and everything.

“Then came the two-month period of negotiations. We both hated it. Why? Because in that situation, you might not agree.”

Wolff said that the problem was eventually resolved when Mercedes brought in a third party to negotiate with Hamilton and his team, allowing Wolff to focus on maintaining a positive relationship.

“Finally, we changed and brought in someone who did this job, so the situation was resolved in a few days,” Wolff said.

“That’s why it’s always going to be complicated with all the drivers. On the one hand, you want to maintain a good relationship.

“On the other hand, negotiations are sometimes tough, and it’s difficult when the other side is an emotional athlete, not someone who deals with this every day.”

More on Lewis Hamilton from PlanetF1

Lewis Hamilton releases new statement ahead of Dutch Grand Prix

Hamilton referenced these negotiations himself recently when his successor Kimi Antonelli was asked about his reported salary, to which the seven-time World Champion joked: “I can help you with the contract. I know how to work Toto, don’t worry.”

It was ultimately a contract stipulation that saw Hamilton leave Mercedes for Ferrari with the driver signing a 1+1 deal in 2023, meaning he could walk away after a year.

Now at Ferrari, Hamilton’s salary is thought to be around $57m a year, although some reports suggest that could be as high as $100m once performance and marketing bonuses were factored in.

The $57m base fee would put him second in F1’s highest paid leaderboard with Max Verstappen on $75m.

Read next: Bold predictions as F1 2025 resumes: Hamilton engineer swap, Russell to Red Bull, Colapinto out