Lewis Hamilton couldn’t hide his delight after Toto Wolff committed to remaining team boss at Mercedes for three more years at least.
The announcement last week came after the Austrian had been indicating at, at least, partially altering his role within the Brackley-based team after seven years at the helm.
That, in turn, had led to suggestions that Hamilton was holding off on signing a new deal until Wolff’s future plans had been decided.
And now that his future is secure, Lewis has also confirmed attention will soon turn to his own
“We haven’t started the conversation, Toto and I plan to do that over the coming days, we’ve been moving quite a bit over the past days, travel-wise,” he said.
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“But otherwise on the super, super plus side I’m really proud and grateful to see Toto signing, he’s such an important leading figure within this team, and the success that we have achieved would not have been possible without him.
“He is such a great figurehead and I think that the team is better for it to have that longevity, and it’s great to see the commitment from Mercedes, and then the added bonus of having INEOS, who came in this year and have been a part of our success this year, it’s great to see they’re going to part of this team and help with the stability of this team moving forwards, in growing to be better.
“It’s going to take a big push from us to continue to raise the bar in this organisation as I think we’ve done such a great job over these past years, but I think the right people are in the right place and it looks good, the future looks bright for this team I think.”
Though the headlines from Wolff’s new deal focused on a three-year continuation in his current role, the Austrian suggested that had been misinterpreted.
“That is a misunderstanding,” he said. “I haven’t committed to a further three years. I have committed for life.
“We are three shareholders that own the company today, and irrespective of my own role, I could team principal, CEO, executive chairman, at any time.
“But Mercedes is what I do.”