‘I didn’t see it coming’ – Toto Wolff on facing up to losing Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff, who will lose Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari at the end of the season, says his motto is to play hard and forgive quickly. Photograph: Federico Basile/IPA Sport/ipa-agency.net/Shutterstock

After what might be considered an enormously long honeymoon period, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are now handling the breakup. Yet on the eve of the British Grand Prix, the team principal, Toto Wolff, believes the relationship he and his team have forged with the seven-time champion will yet last the ages.

This weekend’s race will be Hamilton’s last for Mercedes at Silverstone as his move to Ferrari at the end of the season marches inexorably closer. He and Wolff both joined the team in 2013 and enjoyed unprecedented success together, Hamilton taking six titles and Mercedes eight constructors’ championships.