13/05/2019
NEWS STORY
When Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving McLaren for Mercedes it sent shockwaves through the sport, ultimately leaving a lot of people - including Pitpass - with egg on their faces as it turned out to be one of the savviest switches in the history of the sport.
However, Toto Wolff's admission over the Barcelona weekend that he and the world champion had discussed a move to Maranello caused the rumour mill to go into overdrive.
"You have to acknowledge that probably it's in every driver's head to drive at Ferrari one day," the Austrian told reporters. "It's the most iconic, historic Formula One brand out there and I totally respect if a driver has the desire to drive at Ferrari.
"Even within the team we have discussed it and with Lewis we have discussed it and we have agreed on the topic," he revealed. "We had the discussion when we negotiated the last contract and I think that you just have to be open-minded and understand that drivers will explore opportunities that exist and benchmark themselves."
With the current form of the Italian team suggesting that Hamilton might be better off eyeing a future at Red Bull or even a return to Woking, the world champion was asked about Wolff's comments.
"I don't really remember what he's referring to," said the Briton. "I think when you're in negotiations you always have to drop in the Ferrari name."
"You come out better!" joked Max Verstappen.
"You come out better," continued Hamilton. "No, naturally in negotiations... Toto's a very intelligent man so we have great negotiations and great conversations and naturally I've been with Mercedes since I was 13, so it's very difficult to see myself anywhere else.
"I have never made it a secret that I've been a Ferrari fan," he added, "particularly Ferrari cars, and that's no secret.
"Do I plan on going elsewhere? I haven't made any plans for my future. At the moment I'm just enjoying driving with this team. I'm enjoying continuous growing with this team and, I mean, it's incredible what we're achieving together, what we have achieved in these six years, seven years or whatever it is, and I plan on working with this team to help it become the most successful team of all time. That's my current goal and my sole focus."