Toto Wolff has spoken about Lewis Hamilton’s secret motorbike tests (Image: James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Toto Wolff has revealed that Lewis Hamilton was once involved in a secret superbike test, which he attempted to hide from the team principal. The seven-time Formula One world champion was unreachable for two days and even fell off his bike during a trip to Spain in 2018.
It is currently an exciting time for Hamilton, who is embarking on a chapter in his career with Ferarri. The 40-year-old drove a F1 car for the , ahead of the new season, after ending his 12-year association with .
is targeting a record eighth world title, having last won the drivers’ championship in 2020. However, if the new driver faces a late career change, it appears he has a natural flair for MotoGP, even if Hamilton did hide his Yamaha YZF-R1 exploits from .
“Secretly, they didn’t tell me. They went testing in Jerez with my head of strategy, who is also a keen motorbike guy and one of the engineers,” Wolff said on the podcast. “And I couldn’t get hold of him for two days. And then I’m calling Lewis.
“My engineer picks up and he says, ‘It’s all good. All is fine. We just finished biking and just whatever you hear, he’s all fine.’
“I said, ‘What happened?’ He fell. But he was four seconds off the MotoGP pros. It’s unbelievable. The body feeling that he has is what makes him a champion.”
A year later, Hamilton participated in a vehicle swap with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi. The then- driver tried out a 2019 Yamaha YZR-M1, while Rossi took Hamilton’s 2017 championship car for a spin. Describing Hamilton as “ the annoying kid in school that does everything right,” Wolff benefited from the F1 icon’s love of motorbikes, as Hamilton surprised him with a limited edition MV Augusta.
Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi swapped vehicles in 2019 (Image: Guido De Bortoli/Getty Images for Monster Energy)
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“So one day it rings at the door and we are having scheduled dinner with Lewis in Monaco,” Wolff explained. “So he knows Susie [Wolff] for a long time. They race cars. So he comes for dinner.
“He rings at the door and says, ‘Come down, please.’ And I’m saying, ‘No, come up, we’re up here’. [He says] ‘No, no, there’s really something I’d like to show you.’ So [Susie and I] are going down and he’s there with his bike and it’s an MV Agusta, edition.”
Explaining the reason for the lavish gift, Wolff recalled Hamilton saying, “‘You know, you’ve done so many great things, and you and I together, and I’ve never given you a gift. So I want to give you the number one of a 44 edition.’”
Hamilton will hope to strike a similar bond with chief Frederic Vasseur. The seven-time champion will have a few more test sessions before he competes for at the Australian Grand Prix in March.