Lewis Hamilton said a shake-up of his management team has taken up a lot of his time during the off-season.
The changes within his inner circle came to light shortly before the announcement of his shock decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari at the end of the year.“It was a difficult winter I would say and very unusual,” said Hamilton. “There was a lot of deep thought throughout December, things going on with management which is taking a lot of time to reshape and that’s never an easy process but it’s all amicable and now it is [about] working on rebuilding my own team.
“I have a lot of things that I want to do and I know exactly what I want to do. It’s about finding good people to add into your team, making sure that it’s diverse and so that’s always at the heart of what I try to maintain to put in place.”
His opportunity to join Ferrari arose while that was going on. “In January everything kind of turned upside down in terms of when the option came,” he said.
The Mercedes driver split from Penni Hopper and her Copper management team in January, two years after appointing them. He previously parted ways with long-term physiotherapist Angela Cullen in March last year.
However another long-standing member of his team, Marc Hynes, has returned this year to assist his driving development.
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Hamilton said he spent “a lot of time alone trying to make sure you’re doing your due diligence and you’re making the right decision for yourself and I feel like I made the right decision,” he said.
As he prepares to begin his final season as a Mercedes driver, Hamilton said he sees a bright future for the team.
“I’m excited about this year. I know this team is going to win another championship and I’ll be proud to know that I’ve been a part of it because a lot of the things you put in place in terms of how much more diverse our team is, the processes that we go through in the long haul will be always be a part of that process and the development this team is going through.
“But I’m really looking forward to that new challenge, it’s a lot of different emotions that you would experience through that challenge, but it’s one I’m really excited about.”
The mood is positive within the team, he added. “I was back at the factory last Monday, it’s full attack, everyone’s all-hands-on-deck.”
However he admitted he will feel some sadness at separating from Mercedes after 12 years of driving for them. “I’ve been with this team such a long time, there’s so much love within the team and I still and always will love this team,” he said.
“Everyone was incredibly understanding within the team and hugely supportive and everyone knows that I’m here to deliver for them this year so that’s the focus, it’s the same as any other year.
“It is emotional and every week will be emotional because the seat fit is the last seat fit for the team and I remember the first one, the winter test is the last winter test that I’ll do with the team. So there’s going to be a lot of emotional experiences through the year but we will do it together.”
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Andy Bosisto
28th February 2024, 14:15
He has always maintained he would like to drive for Ferrari someday. He has had a lot of success with Mercedes power engines. Maclaren had Mercedes engines.It was natural for him to go to Mercedes. Every successful driver would like to drive for Ferrari not every successful driver can win with Ferrari. Interesting times ahead .