Toto Wolff reveals surprise F1 driver called him about Mercedes seat after Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari move was confirmed

Toto Wolff has spoken out to reveal the shock Formula One driver who called him immediately after Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving the team.

After 12 years with Mercedes, Hamilton announced that he would be leaving the F1 team to join rivals Ferrari for the 2025 season.

Having won six world titles with the German team, the news shocked Formula One fans and left many questioning who would replace the Brit at Mercedes.

And immediately after the news was announced, one shock driver immediately picked up the phone to speak with Mercedes boss Wolff.

While speaking to The Guardian, Wolff revealed that he found out about Hamilton's shock departure early due to his relationship with the father of Carlos Sainz Jr, the driver that Hamilton will replace at Ferrari.

Speaking about the day that Hamilton came to tell him the news, the Austrian revealed: "I wasn't shocked at all.

"I knew this was happening a few weeks earlier when I got a phone call from Carlos Sainz and his father. He said, 'Something is cooking'. I said, 'Why would that happen before the start of the season?'"

However, Carlos Sainz and his dad were not the only people to call Wolff after hearing about Hamilton's departure, as the Mercedes boss also revealed that Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso picked up the phone.

"But that same afternoon I received calls from a few other drivers that were close to Charles Leclerc. Fernando Alonso too," Wolff added

"I think it started from Leclerc knowing over the winter and then his closest allies hearing there was a seat free."

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton worked together at Mercedes for 12 years. (Image: Getty)

"I said to Susie [Wolff's wife], 'This is happening without us officially knowing'."

Young rookie Kimi Antonelli will replace Hamilton at Mercedes and drive alongside Brit George Russell, meanwhile Carlos Sainz Jr will move to Williams having lost his Ferrari seat to the seven-time World Champion.

Speaking about his new driver, Wolff added: "On the professional side, I always see benefits in change.

"We have new regulations, we have reshaped our organisation and we're embarking on a new era with our senior driver turning 27 and the junior driver being 18. We have two drivers barely older together than Lewis. That's very exciting."