Mercedes boss Toto Wolff aims to beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton as duo face life as Formula 1 rivals

He might have had more than 12 months to prepare for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari but Toto Wolff admits there will be certain feelings as his former World Champion driver moves on. He reveals his thoughts ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

It is a moment Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has had plenty of time to think about.

How is he going to feel watching his former Silver Arrows star Lewis Hamilton on the starting grid for the first time for rival Ferrari at the season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix?

After all, this is no ordinary former driver.

And no ordinary rival team.

This is a driver who won six of his seven world championships and had 84 grand prix wins in a golden era for Mercedes.

And the rival? Only the most famous team on the F1 grid.

Lewis Hamilton is making his Formula 1 racing debut for Ferrari. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Sunday’s race at Albert Park will be the first time since Wolff has been at Mercedes that Hamilton will be on the starting grid as a competitor.

There have been photo shoots, pre-season testing, practice and qualifying to get used to seeing him in red, but this moment will bring it all into sharp focus for the Mercedes boss.

Regardless of their extraordinary achievements together with the three-pointed star, for Wolff, Hamilton was now just another opponent he had to beat.

“I am very much split and (able to) compartmentalise my emotions when it comes to Lewis,” Wolff said when asked how he was going to feel seeing Hamilton on the starting grid for Ferrari.

“Nothing is changing the friendship, we have gone through so many good moments and difficult moments together that this is how it is going to stay. I have no doubt about that.

“But on Sunday, he is a competitor in a Ferrari and we need to beat a competitor whether it is Lewis or any other driver out there, so that makes no difference in our approach.”

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton won six Formula 1 world championships together. Picture: David Caird

Hamilton shocked the F1 world when he announced in February last year that he would be leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari from 2025 in one of the biggest driver moves in the sport’s history.

It sparked a season-long Mercedes farewell, giving Wolff plenty of time to get used to the idea of Hamilton driving a Ferrari.

It is a partnership – between one of the all-time greats of F1 and the world’s most famous motorsport brand – which Wolff has described as “iconic”.

“I think (the start of this season has) felt less different to be honest because we got used to it over the course of the season (last year),” Wolff said of adjusting to life without Lewis.

“There was this moment (when) Lewis showed up in red for the first time, I really liked that picture. For 12 years, I have said often, I tried to put him in a suit and then first night out with the new one (team) he is putting the suit on and the tie.

“But Lewis at Ferrari is iconic, I think the sport benefits from it and I think from a personal level, we wish him to really be in a happy place.

“The past (we share) is great history, there isn’t any better driver-team combination and we will always cherish this.”

There is no doubt Hamilton has been in a “happy place” since his arrival at the Scuderia.

Living out a childhood dream to race in red, Hamilton, at the age of 40, has revelled in a new series of firsts – his first day at the Ferrari factory (cue that iconic picture); his first day behind the wheel for pre-season testing, his first practice and qualifying for the team.

And, on Sunday, the first race of the new era in his decorated career - 18 years after he started he launched his F1 journey at the Australian Grand Prix with McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton has seven world championships to his name, and brings plenty of experience - and expectation - to Ferrari.

“I’m very, very fortunate. I’ve had this amazing career here in Formula One,” Hamilton said.

“Starting with McLaren here in 2007 was an epic feeling. And then starting with the new team again with Mercedes was, again, incredible.

“I think this is very reminiscent of my first year. Over the years, I’ve gone up and down the paddock looking at the red garage, and now I’m actually in the red garage. So it’s a nice feeling.”

Despite all the romance surrounding the hook-up that has had everyone talking, there is plenty riding on the move for Hamilton.

The Brit shares the record for the most world drivers’ crowns with former Ferrari great Michael Schumacher, but an eighth title would put his place as the greatest of all time beyond doubt.

Hamilton won the last of his seven world titles five years ago in 2020 – before Red Bull and Max Verstappen got on a roll. He will now be trying to cement his place in history with a team which has not produced a world drivers’ champion since flying Finn Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

But it’s a quest Hamilton is throwing everything at.

“For me, I’m back at kind of square one,” Hamilton said this week.

“I’m really just putting all the time I have in. I’ve been at the factory, like four days a week.

“I’ve been giving absolutely everything to training, to push my mind and my body further than I have before, trying to see if I can excel, and just squeeze more out of this ... and I’m under no assumptions that it will be easy. It is not.

“But I don’t feel the pressure, just like the outside pressure is just nonexistent for me. The pressure is from within, and what I want to achieve.

“I’m not here to prove anything to anybody. I don’t feel I have to do anything. I’ve been here a long, long time and done it time and time again.

“I know what it takes to do a good job, and that’s what I want to deliver for myself and for my family, for this team that I really believe deserves success.”

Lewis Hamilton is a two-time winner at Albert Park. Picture: Getty Images

A two-time winner at Albert Park, Hamilton last won the Australian Grand Prix in 2015.

While he wants to deliver as soon as he can in red, Hamilton acknowledged there would be an inevitable transition period as he adjusted to life in a new car.

“Joining a new team, the sooner you can reach a high level and get results, the better,” Hamilton said.

“But, inevitably, there’s a transition period, and there is a foundation that’s needed to be built.

“The first half of the season, it is about that foundation building those relationships, the trust you’re building with absolutely everyone in the team. Trust isn’t something you just walk in the door and have - it’s built over time.

“For me, the goal is to win, of course, and to take the team forward. I’ve had some not not-so-spectacular years and I’m trying to see if I can have a better year than I have the last three.

“I know what I can bring, I know what I can deliver, and I know what it’s going to take. It’s just about getting my head down and working away.

“This is definitely the most exciting period of my life.”

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Picture: AFP

Transition period? Maybe. But Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur indicated the honeymoon period won’t last forever.

“I think it’s a good journey for him. He enjoys what he’s doing, and we enjoy working with him,” Vasseur said.

“But, you know, we’re all in the same situation. During the winter period, we’re all world champions, we’re all best friends, and then we have the first qualifying session and we’re back to reality.

“We had two months of marketing – it was a huge wave at the beginning. The most important thing is to be able to turn the page and get back to business as usual.”

Originally published as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff aims to beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton as duo face life as Formula 1 rivals