Damon Hill says Toto Wolff will stop Lewis Hamilton doing one thing after Imola GP

Lewis Hamilton will race in Italy for the first time this weekend since announcing his move to Ferrari. F1 is headed to Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Hamilton has so often been the enemy of the Tifosi over the years, be it in the colours of McLaren or Mercedes. But the reaction of the crowd at the upcoming race will be a source of intrigue.

For now, the 39-year-old is still representing the Silver Arrows. But he’s been in a unique situation this year after Ferrari announced a year ahead of time that he’d be joining for 2025.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said recently that Hamilton has remained nothing but professional since the move was confirmed. He’s endured his worst-ever start to an F1 season, but Wolff doesn’t feel that thoughts of Ferrari have played a part.

The Austrian insisted that Hamilton’s exit didn’t come as a surprise in and of itself. He knew the second year of his contract was optional.

But he did question why the Englishman made his decision before the season had even begun. Behind the scenes, their relationship has apparently been damaged.

Damon Hill says Toto Wolff won’t let Lewis Hamilton visit Ferrari factory

The Imola circuit is located just over 50 miles away from Ferrari’s HQ in Maranello. This prompted F1 Nation podcast host Tom Clarkson to question whether Hamilton would visit the facility after the race.

However, 1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill doubts he’ll receive permission. He reckons Wolff will refuse on the grounds that Hamilton is still a Mercedes employee.

He said: “Do you think Toto will be saying, ‘listen, you can go, but you’ve got to bring something back! I can imagine Toto saying ‘well, you’re still under contract mate’, you shouldn’t be fraternising with the enemy just yet.”

Ferrari have recently poached a couple of senior figures from the Mercedes ranks. They confirmed earlier this week that Loic Serra would join as head of chassis performance and engineering and Jerome D’Ambrosio would take up the post of deputy team principal.

Lewis Hamilton explains what he’s ‘looking forward’ to ahead of Ferrari move

Hamilton has exercised caution when talking about his move to Ferrari. He’ll be wary of disrespecting his long-time friends and colleagues at Mercedes, who have helped him win six world championships.

But he has said that he’s ‘looking forward’ to learning a new language and embracing a new team ethos. Former Scuderia driver Sebastian Vettel has warned him that he might find it ‘difficult’ to adapt.

Karun Chandhok suspects that he will privately have ‘enjoyed’ Ferrari’s improved performance this year. Fred Vasseur’s team are currently Red Bull’s nearest challengers, and they’ve scored a combined six podiums so far.

Another key question around the move is the fate of Peter Bonnington. Bonnington has been Hamilton’s race engineer ever since he joined Mercedes back in 2013.

Marc Priestley reckons it would be a fresh ‘blow’ for Wolff if the 49-year-old heads to Italy. But he also says it would aid Hamilton’s adaptation immeasurably.