Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has no concerns over Lewis Hamilton’s integrity ahead of the seven-time world champion’s drawn out move to Ferrari.
Hamilton is entering the first year of a new two-year deal with Mercedes worth £100million, but shocked the world of Formula One by activating a release clause in the agreement to join Ferrari from 2025.
Wolff insisted he would not hold a grudge against Hamilton after the 39-year-old broke the news over breakfast at Wolff’s home in Oxford on Wednesday, and also has no concerns about the Briton sharing sensitive information with his future team.
“I’ve always tried to be transparent and fair and nothing’s going to change in that respect in 2024,” Wolff said. “We owe it to our principals and our racing intent and I will ensure that the drivers respect that.
“In terms of development going forward, it’s something we need to look at. When it comes to 2025 we will evaluate later in the season what it means in terms of technical information.
“But it’s not something that bothers me at all. We have engineers that go to other teams and the notice periods are sometimes as short as six months.
“I don’t have any doubt in Lewis’ integrity in terms of sharing information. We want to make sure that this is a successful season for both drivers and for Mercedes and all of us will give our utmost to achieve that.”
Wolff revealed he had heard rumours of Hamilton’s move earlier this week, but made no attempt to change his mind.
“When we signed the contract with Lewis we opted for a shorter term so the events are not a surprise, maybe the timing,” Wolff said.
“We were very aligned when went into the Christmas period. You need to ask Lewis why he changed his mind. How he framed it to me is perfectly understandable.
“He needed a new challenge, he was looking for a different environment and that it was maybe the last possibility to do something else.
“We are big boys, we knew that signing a short-term contract it could be of benefit for both sides. We couldn’t commit for a longer period and he has taken the option to exit.
“We totally respect that you can change your mind and switching to Ferrari, maybe rolling the dice a bit, I can follow that decision. Every driver dreams of being in the red car.
“My first thought was practical. The team’s mind kicked in. Now, having slept a few nights on it, it means our professional journey comes to an end, but it doesn’t mean that our personal relationship ends.
“I’ve found a friend, we’ve built a relationship over the last 10 years and he faced a very, very difficult situation, taking a decision of where to drive, maybe for the first time in 10 years without being able to brainstorm with me and therefore I will always respect the difficulty of the situation that he faced.
“In the future we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way but I hold no grudge.”
Wolff said he would love Hamilton to win a record eighth world title this season after controversially missing out in the final race of 2021, but conceded that would be an uphill task given Red Bull’s recent dominance.
“Is it realistic we are competing for a world championship against Max [Verstappen] in a Red Bull? If I’m a probability person the odds are against us. But nevertheless we will give it our best shot,” Wolff said.
“There’s a friend side in me that says he should have an eighth [title] because that was taken away from him so if he wins that in 2024 that would be a great thing.
“Going forward, competing on track, I’d rather us win.”
Wolff refused to be drawn on who would replace Hamilton in 2025 as he noted that the likes of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris had recently signed new deals with Ferrari and McLaren respectively, but praised George Russell as a lead driver in waiting.
“We have such a solid foundation, such a quick and talented and intelligent guy in the car,” Wolff said. “We just need to take the right choice for the second seat and it’s not something I want to be rushed in.
“I guess that a few contracts have been signed a few weeks ago that we would have looked at that could have been interesting, but in a way I always like change because change provides you with opportunity.
“Maybe it’s a chance to do something bold.”
Norris 'not comfortable' despite setting pace in Belgium practice
Lando Norris admitted he was "not comfortable" despite being fastest in the Belgian Grand Prix second practice.
McLaren finished first and second on Friday, with Norris finishing just 0.215 seconds ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Max Verstappen finished third, but despite an impressive performance, his 10-place grid penalty will affect his result.
Norris finished second in the Hungarian Grand Prix last week, behind Piastri, in a race overshadowed by a radio spat between the Brit and the pit wall.
Having put that behind him, even after a confident practice session on Friday, Norris is not willing to rest on his laurels with Red Bull showing their threat.
"Red Bull are very quick at the minute," Norris said. "So, tricky, but I've just not felt very comfortable today with the car.
"So hopefully I just wake up [on Saturday] and feel a bit more comfortable with it. But we'll try and improve a few things and see again.
"I know it looked good on the timesheets, but I've not felt super comfortable in just going out and doing it. So, hopefully, I can just get in a bit more of a rhythm and feel a bit better out there."
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished in 10th after struggling to match the pace set in the second session.
Mercedes have been credited for their improvement in recent weeks, with Hamilton winning at Silverstone before finishing third at Hungaroring last Sunday.
However, he was also left disappointed on Friday and said he was hoping for the forecast rain over the rest of the weekend to give the team more of an edge.
"It was a pretty bad day," Hamilton said.
"I don't really know what to say! Obviously, it's been feeling great in the past couple of races, but it just felt completely different today.
"We worked on it. The first session was not great, but then in the second session we made some changes, and it started off great, and then when I got to the soft tyre I just couldn't improve and there were a bunch of balance issues we had through the lap.
"It was better through this session, but everyone else went even better. So, to be 1.2s behind is not great.
"If it rains, then that opens it up a little bit and, hopefully, we can do a better job. I think the car should be better in the wet than it is in the dry."
Perez '100% certain' of Red Bull stay after Belgian Grand Prix
Sergio Perez is confident he will still be at Red Bull after this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix regardless of the result.
There has been a lot of speculation over the Mexican's future in recent weeks following a series of poor results at recent races, despite him signing a two-year extension with the team just last month.
Since coming fourth at the Miami Grand Prix in May, Perez's best finish has been seventh, both in Austria and Hungary, and he failed to advance beyond Q1 in four of the last six races.
His drop in form has allowed McLaren to close the gap to Red Bull in the constructors' championship to just 51 points.
With the four-week break soon approaching, both RB driver Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull's reserve driver Liam Lawson have been linked with Perez's seat.
However, the 34-year-old is certain he will still be competing alongside Max Verstappen when the season resumes.
"I am 100% sure," Perez said.
"Because I know basically what's in my contract and I know what the team trusts in me. And I know where is the main focus, which is on delivering on the track.
"It's no different to what it was in Hungary or [at the first race] in Bahrain or how it will be in Zandvoort or the rest of the year," Perez said.
"Every single weekend we've got to deliver the maximum, especially now that, with McLaren catching up in the constructors, it's really important to put everything together if we can achieve it.
"I'm not worried about it. Like I said, I know where I stand. That's not my concern. My only concern I have is to get my season back on track. The rest, I'm pretty chilled about."
McLaren to discuss whether to prioritise Norris over Piastri, says Brown
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has said meetings will take place to discuss whether to prioritise Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri for the remainder of the season.
The issue arose following last week's Hungarian Grand Prix, which saw Piastri's maiden win in Formula One overshadowed by Norris' radio spat with the pit wall.
Piastri had led much of the race before a bizarre pit-stop call by McLaren allowed Norris to take the lead, but was ordered to give the lead back to his team-mate.
Norris initially refused to do so, but with three laps remaining, handed the place back to the Australian as McLaren secured a first one-two since Monza in 2021.
Piastri's win at the Hungaroring made him the seventh different winner in 2024. It is the 16th different year with at least seven winners, the first since 2012 (eight).
But one of Norris' protestations before giving the position back was his battle with Max Verstappen in the Driver's Championship.
Despite scoring his eighth podium of the season in Hungary, the Brit remains 76 points behind the three-time world champion.
Brown, who wasn't on the pit wall in Hungary but is back for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, said the decision would ultimately fall to team principal Andrea Stella.
He told Sky Sports F1: "That's ultimately going to be Andrea's call. We want to get through the first half of the season, see where we end up this weekend.
"I think the Constructors' Championship, while it's definitely not going to be easy, is well within reach.
"I think the challenge on the drivers' front is Max's bad days are second and third places, so (it's difficult) to make those claw backs that we're making on the constructors' that we can do because (Sergio) Perez is struggling at the moment, we also know he's capable of turning it on at any moment.
"That will be something I think we discuss over the summer break."
McLaren's recent pace and form has seen them have a driver on the podium in the last nine races, cutting the gap to Red Bull in the Constructor's Championship.
The British team have another excellent opportunity to cut the gap in Spa, with Norris' championship rival Verstappen receiving a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race by exceeding his engine allowance for the season.
But the Dutchman topped the first practice on Friday, with Piastri finishing 0.531 seconds behind with Norris down in ninth, 0.512secs off his McLaren team-mate.
And Verstappen's showing has left Brown refusing to rule out the possibility of the three-time world champion claiming an eighth win of the season.
"It's a tricky track with how much downforce you want versus speed," Brown said.
"You have to assume Max is on for pole, which is P11.
"It would be a big mistake to think he can't go from P11 to P1 but we have to take every advantage you can."
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