Toto Wolff admits: "I forgot Hamilton is no longer with Mercedes during the race"

The past winter brought a big change to the world of Formula 1, and many were surprised to learn that Lewis Hamilton had left Mercedes, the team he spent 12 years with, to join Ferrari. This is one of the biggest transfers in the history of the sport. Mercedes decided to replace the seven-time champion with the young Kimi Antonelli, who will now share the car with George Russell.

Although everyone was shocked by this change, Toto Wolff, the boss of the Mercedes team, admitted that he had a very hard time accepting that Hamilton was no longer part of the team. He mentioned that it took him some time to get used to this new reality.

A difficult start for Hamilton in the new team

Although it has only been a few weeks since Lewis moved to Ferrari, his debut in the red car did not go according to plan. In the first race, which took place in Australia, he qualified only in eighth place, and finished the race in tenth position, behind both drivers from the Mercedes team. Many wondered how he would cope with the new car, but Hamilton admitted that the track conditions were much more difficult than he had expected.

"The race was much more difficult than I thought," -he said. "The car was really difficult to drive and the rain created additional challenges."

However, the difficulties did not end there. Although he had a lead for a while during the race, Ferrari made a strategic mistake by waiting too long to change tires as the rain began to fall. This miscalculation led to Hamilton and his teammate, Charles Leclerc, losing several positions. Lewis said he was pleased that he did not end up in the walls, as the car was very unstable during the race and dragged him towards the edge of the track.

Despite the initial problems, Hamilton stressed that he was happy that everything went without any serious consequences. He admitted that he was still adjusting to the new car and engine, which proved different to those he was used to in the Mercedes. Although Australia was only the first race, it is clear that Ferrari and Hamilton have a lot of work to do to catch up with the competition, especially McLaren.