Ferrari boss opens up on the phone call where he told Carlos Sainz that Lewis Hamilton can't..

Ferrari’s team principal has opened up on the phone conversation when he told Carlos Sainz that Lewis Hamilton would replace him.

Frederic Vasseur made the agonising call to dispose of Sainz from 2025 despite his three good seasons with the Prancing Horse so far

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

Wolff has been Mercedes team principal since 2013, the same year that hamilton joined the Silver Arrows.

Their relationship has produced fruit in abundance since, with Hamilotn winning six World Drivers’ Championships and Mercedes claiming seven World Constructors’ Championships.

However, the pull of Vasseur, alongside a reported £85million pay packet 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 going back almost two decades. Hamilton won 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 now for more than 20 years. We were always in contact to speak about different things and it [the deal] came naturally. I don’t know what was easy or what was not but it came like this, step by step.

‘Regarding Lewis, it’s a huge opportunity for the team. We are sure that he will bring us a decent step for the future and it will be a good challenge for everybody.’

Hamilton is desprate to win an eighth chapionship to move clear of Michael Schumacher in the record books – and give himself more of a buffer over Max Vertsappen, who already has three at the age of 26.

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

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

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

On Hamilton, he said: ‘This kind of deal is not finalised overnight. It takes time and I was aware of those discussions before I signed my deal so it did not come as a surprise.

‘I have had discussions with Lewis especially when everything was announced and official. We texted each other.