Lewis Hamilton has admitted he will soon have to discuss the details of his impending Ferrari F1 switch with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
The seven-time world champion will complete a bombshell move to Ferrari at the end of the year after deciding to activate a break clause in his Mercedes contract.
It will mark just the second time Hamilton has moved teams in his F1 career. In contrast to his switch from McLaren to Mercedes, which was announced towards the end of the 2012 season, Hamilton’s Ferrari move was confirmed nearly a year in advance.
Hamilton is aware that means he will soon be forced to talk to Wolff about the finer details of how he will be phased out from key Mercedes meetings so that he can prepare for his move to Maranello.
“I think it will start with a conversation with Toto, because I don’t know how to navigate”, Hamilton is quoted by Autosport. “I’ve never been in this position before at this point of the year.
“When I was leaving McLaren, it was towards the end of the season. I didn’t get to go to Mercedes till, I think, it was in December when I had my first seat fit, after the season was done. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to navigate it.”
For the time being, however, Hamilton is focused on ending his 12th and final F1 season with Mercedes on a high.
“Right now, I want to finish on a high here. So all my energy is going into this,” he explained.
“Of course, there’s excitement for the future. But right now, we’re going through a difficult place. That’s my challenge.
“That’s where all my energy is going, to try and figure out how we can get ourselves back to the top. How can I work with the guys? How can I give better debriefs, give them better direction to get back fighting at the front?
“I’m a competitor first and foremost, so I want to win. Just thinking about the next year isn’t going to help me do that.”