Back At Base: 7. The Bombshell

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Good afternoon, everybody. We're just going to kick off with a little bit of housekeeping and then pass over first to Toto, who's over at Pirelli at the moment. So he's in a meeting room in Milan. It's Thursday, the 1st of February at 2 p.m.

The Mercedes staff at Brackley are gathered in the race bays for an unexpected team briefing led by Chief Communications Officer Bradley Lord. Just that on housekeeping. Also something that we don't always say and I think we sometimes take as red but notwithstanding.

all that you know you're no doubt being messaged about by friends and family you're reading on the internet and everything else what we say in here is confidential to us with that i will try to hand over to toto everyone can you hear me

Yeah, great. Like Brady said, I'm Matt Pirelli. No, but jokingly ahead, some of you might have heard the news, or all of you, Luis is going to leave us at the end of 2024 and going to Ferrari. Now I'll give you a little bit of a context and also how it all went about. And this is the confidential bit that Bradley mentioned before.

Sometimes things happen in Formula One that take your breath away. Sometimes they happen so fast that you don't see them coming. And suddenly everything you thought you knew is turned on its head. For the last few months, we've had unparalleled access to the Mercedes team as they prepare for the 2024 season. Inside the team's factory at Brackley and the engine facility at Bricksworth, the workforce have been pouring their hearts into a new car.

capable of winning an eighth world title for Lewis Hamilton or a first for teammate George Russell. We've been there with them. Broadcaster Holly Samos and journalist Sarah Holt are eyes and ears at the heart of the team. Then, on the 1st of February, 2024... came the bombshell. This is BBC Radio 5 Live. Big breaking news this morning. So BBC Sport understands that Lewis Hamilton could make a shock move to Ferrari for next year's F1 season in 2025.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton flew back for work at the end of January. And then on the 31st, he met Toto Wolff for a fateful breakfast at his Oxford home. while Hamilton's representative dropped legal papers off at the team's headquarters in Brackley. Hamilton announced he was activating a release clause in his contract and leaving Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season. After 11 years with Mercedes, he had signed away his future to Ferrari and would join the Italian team in 2025.

I'm Joseph Fiennes and this is F1 Back at Base. Episode 7. The Bombshell. So here we are on a beautifully sunny day. Just arriving at Brackley say hello to everyone at reception at the gatehouse So it's a day after The announcement from the team that Lewis Hamilton is leaving at the end of 2024 and going to drive for Ferrari. And now we're back at Brackley to actually find out.

what's been going on here talk to more people about the performance of the car and the development of the car for the 2024 season which obviously starts in a few weeks time My goodness, what a stunner, hey? I know. I'm still in shock, Holly. I'm still in shock. I mean, what day is it today? Friday. And on Wednesday...

Literally, a bombshell was dropped. And we spoke to Toto on Tuesday, and you spoke to James Allison and Rob Thomas, and they might not have known then. No, they didn't know. They didn't know. It's just crazy to think, isn't it? I know. It's crazy to think. It took less than 24 hours after Hamilton broke the news to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff over breakfast for the story to appear in the Italian media, and then spread across the globe, making headlines as the news gathered pace.

And it wasn't long before Toto had to face the music during an international media call. play out that conversation with Lewis. What were the emotions like? What was your reaction? Tojo, you seem very calm about everything. Just how much of a shock was it? Do you expect in the past that this could happen? How do you plan to juggle ends of sharing information with Lewis?

he could obviously take off to Ferrari next year. Do you still believe that Lewis can win a title even if it isn't with you? Fast reactions are an essential part of Formula One and Toto Wolff is no exception. It's the driver's job to respond quickly on the track, but the Mercedes team principal has to deal with the unexpected at any time. And in an exclusive interview for this podcast, he told Holly Samos...

How he had done just that when he heard his star driver and friend, Lewis Hamilton, was leaving. We last spoke to you at the end of January on Tuesday the 30th.

On Wednesday, you had Lewis come over for breakfast at an annual catch-up following his return from the States. Just tell us what happened next. Well, what happened next was that we had a... a very amicable chat like we always have and then we started to talk about some you know change in the organization and then he said I need to tell you something I'm signed for Ferrari for next year that was pretty much it

What was your reaction? I was surprised of the timing. The sheer fact didn't come as a shock at all. It was more... why now and why from one day to the other but that discussion probably lasted a minute and then I said okay what are we doing about communication Going into Christmas and the winter shutdown, everything was aligned. I know you've said that in the past as well. It was all...

You know, the drivers, everything was sort of happy going ahead 24-25. So did you talk to him about what his thought process was over the last three weeks in January? You're absolutely right when we went into Durham. Winter, holidays, it was pretty much set. It was always clear that there was this option of just having him for a year, but it didn't seem to me that...

there was any consideration on his mind whether he would want to change the team. So I think, I obviously can't speak for himself, but things probably moved pretty quickly over the holidays. preferable not to have 24 hours to react and speak to all partners before such thing leaks. So that was very unfortunate. You said you were surprised by the news, by the timing.

How did he actually break the news to you? Well, I've known Lewis for a long time and I saw that there is something that's bothering him. We've been together for more than 10 years and we have a... really friendly relationship and then you've got to break these news. And I can just imagine how difficult it was because when you turn the thing around and I would have said, well, you know, we haven't seen each other for a while, but I just wanted to tell you of St. Leclerc for next year.

that wouldn't have been easy for me either. In another revelation discovered right here in this podcast, Hamilton's teammate George Russell came very close to hearing the news firsthand too, as he explains to Holly.

I stayed at Toto's the night before and Lewis came over for breakfast the following day. So I thought, you know, it's probably the first time I've seen each other all year. I had an event to go to. I left early. And Toto called me about an hour later saying, you would not believe what I've just been told. What were your feelings about it? What do you think? I was very surprised, to be honest, because...

Lewis has got such a legacy with Mercedes. And even prior to Mercedes from McLaren, he's always had the Mercedes star on his race suit. I respect his decision. He's for sure a bold... move. There's no doubt about it. A bold move. Well, seven time world champions are used to those, but this felt different. Knowing him like you do, Toto, how would you describe Lewis when it comes to making those big, life-changing decisions? Lewis is very pragmatic.

I think he is able to look at the situation and say what's in it for me, what's the pros, what's the cons. And I think in that case he came to the conclusion that... It may be beneficial for him to do such move. This is not the first time Toto has had to respond to one of his world champions delivering a mic drop moment. In December 2016,

Just five days after winning his first world championship, Nico Rosberg announced he was retiring from the sport for good. Toto had to find a new driver in a matter of weeks. How does it compare this news that Lewis broke and this... bombshell really for the Formula One community compared to when Nico announced his retirement. Nico's one was a bigger surprise and came Also more out of nowhere. With Lewis it was pretty clear the contract we were signing that there was such option.

But with Nico, the sheer fact of the retirement, you know, he was so young, deciding to retire rather than Lewis, in that case, just switching teams. That was, I couldn't quite understand. Again, the driver has made the decision. They're big boys and therefore we've got to do what's right for the team. You said a couple of minutes ago you didn't think for either of these announcements to actually try and convince them otherwise. Why is that?

Very rarely I try to convince someone that wants to go to stay. And I haven't done that in the past with any driver. If you feel that... If you're better off in another team or in another structure, just go. We'll look at the past with great respect and good feelings. But life is moving on and I'm never going to hold one back by trying to convince him. A few days after the news broke, Sarah spoke to Mercedes technical director James Allison.

who had committed his long-term future to the team over the winter. We've just seen Lewis Hamilton walk past. What are your thoughts about losing one of your drivers, especially one that's been a bit of a talisman for the team for so long? I mean, it's... It's in the nature of the sport. Nothing lasts forever. This partnership has been, I think, probably the most successful partnership between team and driver in the history of the sport. Our relationships, they run quite deep. So I think that...

All being well, it will just be a fun year together. And then, you know, a bit more small-minded the year after. I hope that we give him massive cause to regret his decision.

Any future rivalries must wait to be played out on the racetrack. For now, there's another side of the story, and Holly interviewed Lewis about his decision, another exclusive for our series. He told her his long-standing relationship with Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, who was his team boss in the junior categories before he entered F1, had been a factor.

So, Lewis, we spoke to you for this podcast the day you were leaving for Christmas and your home in America, back at Brackley, we were talking. Tell us how making your big decision in January came about.

It happened very fast and basically I've known Fred for a long time and for me I was... I was excited for a new year, but not really knowing what the future would hold, not really knowing how long I was going to race for, but knowing that I... I felt super driven and excited to continue to race and I mean the opportunity just popped up and I was like okay I've got to think for a second and I didn't have a lot of time to think.

And I had to just go with my gut feeling and I decided to take the opportunity. I was going to say, is it a gut feeling thing with you? Yeah. Or do you have a lot of people you talk to? No, I didn't speak to anybody. I didn't tell my parents until... the day of it being announced. So no one knew and I really wanted to do it for myself and that's ultimately I had to find out what was going to be the best for me.

And you said it was hard, obviously, leaving such a team you love. Honestly, it was the hardest decision. When I left McLaren, it was a very, very hard decision also because it was like my family. It was really, you feel such a part of the family. obviously i've been such a big part of the mercedes has been such a huge part of my life and we've achieved so much together and the thing is i will always be a mercedes fan and

We'll always have this incredible history together. Even now, like, of all these years after I've left McLaren, I always check where they are. And I'm generally always supporting them. And that will always be the case for me here also. When Hamilton joined Mercedes for the 2013 season, he was replacing seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. In his new partnership with the team at Brackley, Hamilton would go on to equal Schumacher's championship record.

and surpass many of his other feats in the Formula One history books. After two legends of the sport, who do you turn to next? You have got a seat that is vacant for 2025, so what does the future look like for that? I think we want to analyze this calmly and when you look at the drivers that are out there, there is a couple of ones that are interesting.

But it would be too early to preempt. I think at that stage we need to give it all for Luis and for George and not in a way... maybe put ourselves in an even worse situation that not only the driver is leaving and we know that but also the team knows who is going to be in that seat so that is something we want to observe over the next couple of months

The long-term focus at Mercedes is now on George Russell, who has a contract with the team until the end of 2025. The British star began his F1 career at another familiar team.

Williams in 2019, before moving to Mercedes three years later. I remember this time, what would it have been five years ago, so excited for the upcoming season, unsure what... to expect but obviously that was a year where Williams had a lot of difficulties we didn't have a car at the first test the car was delayed and we missed the first

Three days of testing, the team was struggling financially. That was the worst car that the team had produced in probably 30 years. I sort of went under the radar. I could learn at my own pace, make the mistakes without people really noticing, with no real pressure. And even though it was tough to endure the 20 races we did that season, finishing at the back, I look back now and I...

I don't think it harmed my career that first year. I think then spending three years at the back wasn't ideal, and I felt ready to move on in my second year to Mercedes and fighting for championships. But that time has flown by and I'm still only 25 years old. And I think there's a long way to go. Personally, I'm excited for the future.

would have been three years teammates with Lewis Hamilton a great moment for me fighting will to will with him week after week and I've got a lot of respect for him so we'll go through this season Another year where we're going to try and maximise everything. And then, you know, personally excited for 2025. And I don't really mind who's lining up next to me. And when you've had Lewis Hamilton as your teammate for three years.

I think it's difficult to live up to that. Hamilton's departure is an opportunity for Russell. His performance coach, Aleish Casanova's... has been by his side since he was 18 years old. And Sarah spoke to him from his home in Spain about how he could help George prepare for the future responsibilities that may lie ahead. George is in a good position here with Mercedes and...

has opportunities to go for grand prix victories again what can you do if you need to to help george with the mental side of things and prepare for perhaps taking on a bit more pressure and things like that that's that's an interesting question and obviously at this level this high level sports

Psychology is truly, truly important. Everything else, you have to have a holistic vision, right? You need to tackle every area. First of all, George is an exceptional individual. I started working with him, like I said, really young. And he showed me that he could win championships right away. So he won F3 right away, F2 right away. There's only a few of those people around, right? That can manage the pressure and can handle the pressure and still perform.

I've seen it many times that when the pressure is at its highest, he performs even better. So there's not a lot of work to do with him because he's extremely good at this. Toto Wolff agrees that the British driver is already on top of his game, but hints there could now be an extra incentive to perform in 2024. For George, it doesn't change an awful lot because he needs to beat the teammate, whoever it is.

And whether there is an extra bit of motivation with the greatest drive of all times going out and going to Ferrari, I don't know. I think there's a lot of strength within George to do the best possible job and meet his expectations and ours.

Race seats and future drives may be February's hot topic, but in practical terms, a race seat is just that. Do you feel it pushing you inside at all? Very, very slightly, but it's OK. No need for the F1 dictionary here. A seat is a place to plonk a bottom. And making sure a race seat is a perfect fit is yet another example of F1's pinpoint precision.

My shoulders felt really comfortable. But I'm just kind of scared to have nothing. We can put something very flexible there. The comfort foam is very squishy. In the Williams race bays... Sarah and Holly have been given rare access as Logan Sargent and his race engineer, Gaydon Jago, go through the final seat fitting for his 2024 race car. It's an intricate process where, once again, everything is measured in millimetres.

okay let's try and throw a layer and then yeah okay and then um i'm gonna try those knee pads so that's what we've taken now okay good because my knees are really locked in. Can we have a quick chat with you both about exactly what you were asking for Logan? What's going on with your seat fit? Well I put on five kilos so it's a little tight but honestly I feel like the

The tighter probably the better when you have 5Gs going through you. So I'm not too worried about it. But it's the first seat I haven't asked for too much for the first time ever. So I'm just putting a little bit of padding on the shoulders. Honestly for no reason, just to try and have a little bit more comfort. I don't think it's completely necessary. It's always nice to jump in and just feels right, which is the case.

You're never going to get everything perfect here statically, and you always have a few adjustments to do on track, but if it feels good here statically, it's already a good start. Yeah, and because I put the weight on a little bit of pressure.

on my ribs and hips so we'll try and release that a little bit but the weight isn't a worry is it because obviously we've been talking across the season about the losing weight on the car so your weight that you put on is that that's not a worry for the team No, no, I'm good up until 80 kilos, so I'm only at 76.5, but I can't really put any more to fit in my seat. But, no, I think the more weight on me, the healthier I am, the better.

up until 80 and your your neck and your head because of the way you sit it's literally can you describe to the listener because it's you're kind of lying you're not really sitting are you to an extent the thing with the neck is just about Trying to find like the neutral position. So with the headrest, just very slightly pushing your head forward. So it takes the weight off of the front of your neck. So that's the goal. And I think we've done it pretty perfect this year.

Gaten, could you explain for us a little bit about the process of the seat fitting? At the end of last year, what we do, we pour a seat. That's what we call it. two-part element form that you mix together and then will expand and this expansion just basically merge with the driver and shape the seat to the driver and the driver just feels comfortable position

You scan this when it's done. Is that just his bottom or his legs? All his body. His legs, his upper body, his bottom, everything is shaped to his shape. You scan this. And then the design office will use that scan to produce a carbon seed that you're seeing today. So is this essentially a mould? This is a mould of...

of Logan body, yes. And Gaten, how long does this process take to get it exactly right from the beginning when he did the mold pre-Christmas to Bahrain when we go for the test? The pore is probably... Half a day to a day, depending on how many attempts you do, because it's a dynamic process when the form expands. You don't always get it right the first time. So, for example, in December we took two attempts to be happy with what we had.

If you wanted to, say for Monaco or something, you wanted to go a bit higher, we're getting that released so that that can be changed. And then in terms of your head position, do you feel like you're in kind of the right spot, central? Yeah, I think so. It feels a little squishy though.

What, the headrest? Yeah. The seat fit is an intimate part of a driver's preparation for the new season, and outsiders don't normally get to see the complexities involved. Williams have granted us special access for our series. Like most things in F1, getting a seat right is a team effort. Employees from across the factory are involved in the process and there's a cluster of activity around Logan.

Who are the people that are working with Logan here, leaning over him in the cockpit? Hero is part of the race crew, the race team. Philippa is part of the design office and he's in charge of... of all the process for seat fit. We have Libby from design office that is the person that is in charge of looking at the scan, the seat scan, releasing the drawing of the seat that Logan is sitting in now.

So it's a bit of a pressure day for her because it's the result of quite a bit of work from her side and she just wants Logan to be happy with the seat. Why is it so important that drivers are comfortable in the car? Have you seen some races? in the past where Logan has struggled because he didn't have the feel that he wanted? Yeah, I don't think so much about the feel. It's probably more about the comfort and the potential pain.

or discomfort that can develop with time when you drive. Tracks are very different. Some are high speed, some are very bumpy. So the body is stressed. You've heard a few times over the past years, especially since... This generation of car in 2022, the car are ground floor effect cars. They are stiff, they run low, they touch the ground quite harshly. So the driver just wants to make sure he feels secured, solid.

matching the car not moving in the car and in comfort as well what you want is that the driver doesn't worry about is seat fit and it's comfort and it can just drive the car. Why is the seat fitting such an important landmark on your way to the new season starting? I guess if you're sitting at your desk and you're working with your laptop you quite like to.

feel comfort and just be able to sit there for a day and feel happy and feel that you can focus on your work and i think for the driver it's a bit the same it's his office the car and he just wants to feel at home and I feel one with the car. So yeah, most of the time there's a bit of the driver confidence saying if the seat-feet goes well, it's the first step towards a good season, I think.

So this is his equivalent, this is Logan's equivalent of a posh office chair, isn't it? An ergonomic chair. Yeah, it is. It's a pretty expensive... Two floors above the hustle and bustle of the factory floor, in his corner office at Grove, Williams team principal James Vowles is anxiously waiting for news on the card.

final crash test. Logan may be sitting comfortably but the season could be very different if the car doesn't pass this final hurdle. If it does Williams will have the green light to go racing.

but Vals knows nothing is guaranteed. I won't be there to this one. It just feels that these... You trust the engineering processes that you have in place in order to get it done there. And whether I'm there or not, it feels that that's almost putting a mistrust in what we're doing. You'll get the phone call. That will be it, one way or the other.

A few days later, after a nail-biting wait, Holly receives a voice note from Val's, who wants to make sure this podcast is amongst the first to know. But does he have good news or bad? I'm pleased to say that we've now, as of today, passed all of the crash tests. So our FW46 is certified, will be built and be ready to be a race car in Bahrain. And it's a tremendous relief for the organization.

It's a tremendous accolade for the organisation as well. It's such a big change in technology and in such a short space of time. And these tests are incredibly important. They're what keep the drivers safe. given the amount of energy going through the car and then in the case of accidents. And it's great that we can take that hard work and productivity and now really deliver in the track in Bahrain. So can't wait now.

for it to leave the garage and see how we get on. Momentum is growing at Grove and February marks another landmark, the fire up. The unmistakable roar of an F1 engine reverberating through the factory as the power unit joins forces with the chassis. It's another boost for the team who, as we've heard, have been putting in overtime to get the car ready. Williams have now passed two massive milestones on their way to the start of the 2024 season, with just a few weeks to spare.

At Brackley, it's business as usual. It has to be. The start of the new F1 season is just days away, but as Toto says, Mercedes are in permanent racing mode. The shocking news has now been swallowed as easily as a croissant at a breakfast meeting. Now, as he tells Holly, the show must go on. The reaction was surprise, but I didn't see at all in the...

bigger groups in Brickshaw and Brackley, like a shock reaction. On the contrary, I think it's the mindset of the team is we have a great group of people and this team is set up. to dampen any big movements. This is not an organization that relies on one individual, neither the drivers nor myself or any other important people. Strengths is in the wider group and therefore I didn't see anything that surprised me. Whatever lies ahead, the team are focused once again on building race cars. Or...

To be more precise, painting them. And the Mercedes design team even has a special phrase for that. It's called giving the car a birthday. At the beginning of February, I think we get two days to do the whole first car. So we do one car in two days, which would be everything from front wing nose, chassis, engine cover. And it's the only time that we paint the car all as one.

this is mercedes head of design sam o'brien who oversees every inch of the team's design at his desk he's giving sarah a sneak peek of the car's 2024 livery before it gets unveiled to the rest of the world Transferring the design from screen to car, well, that's another matter. Are they spraying the paint on? They're all hand sprayed, there's no machines, it's all hand done. There's a group of very talented people over at the paint shop who can apply.

the paint in very small quantities but get the coverage they need to get the colour through but not add any extra weight that we don't necessarily need by applying too thick a layer or anything like that. We look to reduce the paint weight as much as possible, so not paint in any unnecessary areas, and just looking into our process with our paint shop here on the best way we can facilitate that. So tell us about that, because I think it's fascinating.

Areas of the car are unpainted. We're probably looking close to 50% of the car, so the rear wing's not painted, the front wing isn't painted, obviously all the suspension arms, but everything within the two green lines. The centre of the nose through onto the top of the chassis, the halo, the engine cover, the roll hoop is all painted. And that's because you want to save weight? Primarily that's the reason. So we would try and remove as much weight as possible.

Every second counts and every gram matters. Next door to the paint shop, where the cars are getting their new look, is a large warehouse piled high with boxes. This is the clothing storeroom. where team wear manager Vicky Portland is also head down at her busiest time of the year. Team kit, old kit, driver kit, office wear, factory wear. Still waiting for the 2024 race team kit so that the boxes are empty on that.

Vicky has to kit out the 2,400 people who work at Brackley and Bricksworth and get the drivers race ready too. Not an easy feat with 24 races on the horizon in 2024. They normally have a brand new suit for qualifying and a brand new suit for a race. so between all the different options with different livery and different races we for lewis he's on 88 suits for the year so george should be on the same as well 88 suits for the year

Over 24 races. What about driver's underwear? Because I heard they have to wear special underwear to race, don't they? They have to wear the Nomex long sleeve tops and the Nomex. Long Johns. Long Johns, yeah. Hold that thought. Let me grab my F1 dictionary. Nomex. That's a flame-resistant material that F1 drivers' undies are made from. I bet they've got more than 88 of those, haven't they?

Yeah, so I think on socks, they've got like 200 pairs for the year. So I can imagine all the other underwear is a lot more high. It's just insane numbers. I don't know how you do this, Vicky. When do you have to get the kit ready to send off with... the race team as such is there an actual deadline for a race so for bahrain i was expected to be the monday or the tuesday of the week before so what about 10 days before race day

This may be the last season Lewis Hamilton will put on his Mercedes racing and George Russell will hope he's dressed for his best season yet.

But the anticipation of driving these magnificent machines at high speed, well, that probably feels like the first time. And here's another thing. The first drive in a new F1 car, that can also hold the key. to what lies ahead. The very first day you drive the car is filled with so many emotions because you learn probably within five laps, how the rest of the season is going to pan out. You know, we knew last year after the first five laps, we weren't going to be fighting for a championship.

is sort of like a real blow for everybody who's worked so hard. There's so much anticipation because what we're about to experience will tell us how the rest of the year is going to pan out. Next time on F1, back at base. It's time to launch. There's big pressure not to mess up the umbrella. Williams take off to the Big Apple. This is about why you've been doing everything you have over the last few months across the winter. And Mercedes hit the track at Silverstone.

It's one thing having tested it in a factory, quite another thing to find out whether that's really true with the physical thing with an actual driver in it on an actual track. F1 Back at Base was created and produced by Holly Samos and Sarah Holt and is an IMG production for the BBC. Who drives the world forward? The one with the answers or the one asking the right questions? At Aramco, we start every day by asking how. How can innovation help deliver reliable energy to the world?

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