Ferrari boss opens up on the phone call where he told Carlos Sainz that Lewis Hamilton would replace him in 2025… as he details ‘difficult’ conversation with Mercedes chief Toto Wolff

Ferrari’s team boss opened the phone call when he told Carlos Sainz that Lewis Hamilton would replace him.

Frederic Vasseur made the painful decision to sell Sainz from 2025, despite his three good seasons at the Prancing Horse so far.

Hamilton, 39, will drive his beloved Mercedes for one more season before getting behind the wheel in Ferrari’s iconic red livery on a multi-year contract, as revealed earlier this month.

Vasseur had a test meeting with Sainz, but claimed it was even more difficult to convey the news to Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff.

“It wasn’t the easiest call of my life,” he told Sainz. “But the one that was the hardest was the one with Toto.”

Vasseur had to tell Sainz that Lewis Hamilton would replace him from the 2025 season

Wolff has been team boss of Mercedes since 2013, the same year Hamilton joined the Silver Arrows.

Their relationship has since paid off in spades, with Hamilotn winning six Drivers’ World Championships and Mercedes winning seven Constructors’ World Championships.

Vasseur’s appeal, alongside a reported salary of £85 million and a convincing pitch that Ferrari can help him win a record eighth championship, turned Hamilton’s head.

Vasseur and Hamilton have a special bond that goes back almost twenty years. Hamilton won the Formula Three and GP2 (now Formula Two) championships with Vasseur’s ART team in 2005 and 2006.

Vasseur said: ‘We have had a good relationship for more than twenty years now. We were always in touch to talk about different things and it (the deal) came naturally. I don’t know what was easy or what wasn’t, but it came like this, step by step.

“As for Lewis, it’s a huge opportunity for the team. We are sure that he will bring us a good step for the future and that it will be a great challenge for everyone.’

However, he said the ‘hardest’ conversation of his life was telling Toto Wolff he was going to poach Hamilton from Mercedes

Hamilton will reportedly earn £85 million a year at Ferrari and will attempt to win an eighth World Drivers’ Championship

Hamilton is desperate to win an eighth championship to avoid Michael Schumacher in the record books – and give himself more of a cushion over Max Vertsappen, who already has three at the age of 26.

Incredibly long life is possible in Formula 1, as Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen have proven in recent seasons, but Hamilton will know he is at the end of his career.

At Ferrari he will work with Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque driver who signed a new contract in January until 2029.

Leclerc is clearly talented, having finished second in 2022 and recently revealed his own ambition to win the title.

Of Hamilton, he said: “This kind of deal doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and I was aware of those discussions before I signed my deal, so it didn’t come as a surprise.

“I’ve had conversations with Lewis, especially when everything was announced and official. We texted each other.

Vasseur has long been a mentor to Hamilton and was his team boss in 2006 and 2007

Charles Leclerc said he was aware Hamilton was in talks to join even before signing his contract extension in January

‘It’s clear that Lewis is an incredible driver, the most successful in history, with a lot of experience that he brings to the team, which is a good thing.

‘Lewis is a great champion with so much success. It’s always interesting to have a new teammate because you learn different ways of driving and working, especially when my new teammate is a seven-time world champion.’