Toto Wolff reveals how he really knew Lewis Hamilton was okay after Abu Dhabi
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11:08, 20 Sep
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Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
Toto Wolff revealed how he knew Lewis Hamilton was okay after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and shared what made him proud.
Hamilton lost the 2021 Formula 1 world title to Max Verstappen on the final lap in Abu Dhabi, preventing him from becoming the first-ever eight-time world champion.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Mercedes CEO and team principal Wolff was asked how he knew the Briton was okay after the conclusion of the season.
He began: "Lewis and I speak a lot, we text a lot all along. And I knew that he was in an okay place because he immediately left, spent some time in The Caribbean after that race and, you know, was doing his sports and kite surfing."
How Hamilton made Wolff proud after Abu Dhabi
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The Austrian continued: "He went to some friends' place in The Caribbean and they told me he's okay. And he took his distance."
Wolff was also proud of the seven-time world champion. According to Wolff, Hamilton had improved significantly in dealing with difficult moments.
"I was also proud because he's come a long way to cope with difficult moments that he had in the past. There were times where I was helping him to overcome such situations in the same way, and the other way around. It's also what made our relationship so strong that we've seen each other on the worst moments."
After Abu Dhabi, Hamilton experienced the most difficult part of his career. He went winless for the first time in 2023, and was not in mix for the battle for the world title.
"When it comes to doubting, I think it's we have a similar mindset of 'staring in the abyss'. Every day you hang on for dear life, you give it all you have, you fight for becoming better, meeting your own expectations, to overcome literally everything. And when you don't win for such a long time, you start to doubt," Wolff continued.
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"What I did all along is trying to reduce the doubt by saying you're the greatest driver that this world has ever seen. And why should anything be different? The car is not good enough and the car is unpredictable, but I don't see you in any different way than five years ago."
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