The vital role Lewis Hamilton’s manager Marc Hynes had in his Mercedes exit

Lewis Hamilton’s manager Marc Hynes had only been in his job a few days before playing an important role in the driver’s Mercedes exit.

Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the end of this year to join Ferrari in 2025, after activating a get-out clause in his contract with his current employers.

Hynes was confirmed as Hamilton’s new manager on Monday January 29, two days before the superstar driver visited Toto Wolff at his Oxfordshire home to tell him that he planned to leave Mercedes.

Simultaneous to Hamilton and Wolff’s private conversation last Wednesday, Hynes arrived at Mercedes’ Brackley headquarters to deliver formal notification of the bombshell news.

The series of events was orchestrated by Hamilton because he wanted to tell Wolff in person, rather than through a third-party.

Nico Rosberg, by contrast, spent hours on an aeroplane with Wolff after winning the 2016 but opted to inform the Mercedes boss of his retirement via phone when they landed.

The role of Hynes in formalising Hamilton’s Mercedes exit was a monumental task for the manager.

Hynes is returning to the job that he left in 2021 after an amicable split with Hamilton.

He was previously also the chief executive of Project 44.

But for the past two years Hamilton has been managed by Penni Thow’s Copper company. Their contractual relationship came to its natural conclusion at the end of last year.

Hynes, therefore, was welcomed back into Hamilton’s inner-circle.

But this time around he will solely focus on “racing activities”, The Telegraph report.

That will now, of course, involve one final season at Mercedes - the team where Hamilton has won six of his seven F1 championships.

Hynes is then expected to be by Hamilton’s side as he makes his blockbuster move to Ferrari next year.