Toto Wolff “hated” negotiating with Lewis Hamilton because of one "problem"

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that both he and Lewis Hamilton “hated” negotiating Formula 1 contracts directly with each other, despite enjoying a close personal bond.

Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 and spearheaded the team’s rise into one of the most dominant forces in F1 history, winning six world championships in his first eight years at Brackley.

During this period, Hamilton forged a strong personal relationship with Wolff, and the two remain close even after the Briton’s move to Ferrari for 2025.

But Wolff explained that it was precisely this friendship that made contract discussions awkward, causing talks to drag on for months.

Lewis Hamilton negotiated his own F1 contracts

Unlike most drivers, Hamilton preferred to negotiate his own deals rather than relying on an agent, which meant spending a lot of time with Wolff away from the track to agree terms.

He finally relented and appointed a management team in 2023, stating at that time that it was “very stressful” to do it all by himself.

"It always makes things more complicated when you negotiate with someone who is your ally,” Wolff told Formula.hu. “Someone whose goals are very close to yours.

“For example, Lewis and I, that was always a problem. We were best friends for two and a half years, we agreed 100 percent, we shared our private lives and everything.

“Then came the two-month period of negotiations. We both hated it. Why? Because in that situation you might not agree. Finally we changed and brought in someone who did this job, so the situation was resolved in a few days.

“That's why it's always going to be complicated with all the drivers. On the one hand, you want to maintain a good relationship. On the other hand, negotiations are sometimes tough, and it's difficult when the other side is an emotional athlete, not someone who deals with this every day," the team boss gave an insight behind the scenes.”

Is Toto Wolff 'horrible to negotiate with?'

Former Mercedes driver and 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg had recently described Wolff was “horrible to negotiate with”, claiming that the Austrian would often disappear and become unreachable during talks.

However, Wolff denied that he is a tough negotiator, insisting that he also looks after the interests of the other party.

“No, I think I'm fair,” he said.

“I think we should always put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. So I give my soul to the other side and think, if I were them, what would I want to achieve? Then I ask myself, what is fair in this situation? What do I think would be the right thing to do? 

"I consider that and try to find the right balance, but obviously there are times when both parties want to optimize this and that, and that can make things complicated.”