Wolff won't lend Hamilton to Vasseur in Abu Dhabi: 'You didn't ask'

Lewis Hamilton's switch to Ferrari has occupied minds for months, and now with the end of the season in sight, that change is close to becoming a reality. Frederic Vasseur and Toto Wolff sat together in the constructors' press conference in Las Vegas and joked about Lewis Hamilton's use in the test after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton will not test for Ferrari until 2025 at the earliest, Vasseur said, because Mercedes did not make him available to Ferrari for the test after the last Grand Prix. However, Carlos Sainz, who will be replaced by Hamilton next season, will test with the Williams team he is joining for 2025.

Vasseur was asked when Hamilton will be in action for Ferrari for the first time, with the French team boss saying, "You have to ask Toto. The story with Carlos is that I want to thank Carlos for the collaboration, and I don't want to block him or whatever that he did."

"I think he did a very good job with us this season, and a very professional one, because it would have been easy to not to give up, but not to have the so professional attitude, and for me the best way to thank Carlos was also to give him the opportunity to do the test with Williams," Vasseur said.

The Ferrari team boss stated he was not disappointed with the fact that Hamilton cannot drive the Ferrari in 2024. "They have a contract," he said.

"Fred didn't ask," Wolff said while telling his side of the story. "I think it's a difference, also if you're maybe going to Williams, but we have contractual agreements with sponsors, we're having a farewell for Lewis, we're having lots of activities that are planned. And he and I, we spoke about it shortly and he said, 'I guess that's not going to work.' And I said, 'Yeah, I don't think it's going to work.' And that was the whole thing. So I don't think Fred is particularly sad."

Vasseur replied that he is indeed not sad. "No, but there is a contract. There is a contract. I have to respect this, that it's not because we are doing something for Carlos that everybody has to do the same. As Toto said, I didn’t ask Toto," Vasseur said.

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