Toto Wolff admitted he could not help but look out for Lewis Hamilton during the Australian Grand Prix despite him no longer being a Mercedes driver.

The 2025 Australian Grand Prix was the first time in 247 races where the HAM initials on the timing board were not next to the Mercedes logo and Wolff found himself slipping into old patterns.

Toto Wolff reveals subconscious support of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari debut

Hamilton’s Ferrari debut did not go exactly as planned with him ending the race in 10th but for Wolff and Mercedes, it was a day to savour.

George Russell finished on the podium while Kimi Antonelli battled from 16th on the grid to fourth in an impressive debut.

Asked how it felt to not have Hamilton around the garage, Wolff admitted he kept his eye on three names during Sunday’s race.

“When I was looking at the screens, at times, I looked at it as if we had three drivers,” Wolff said in Melbourne. “Because I was looking at RUS, I was looking at ANT, and I was looking at HAM.

“And then you realise ‘well HAM is actually with Ferrari, and it’s not with us anymore.’

“It was such a long time [that Hamilton was with Mercedes], it’s logical. You cannot just say he’s gone and you don’t care anymore.

“I very much care how he’s doing, but obviously on track, he’s the competition and we need to beat the competition.”

As for the SIlver Arrows, Wolff highlighted an issue with keeping the tyres in the right operating window.

“I think we would have wished to have a fight with the McLarens and with Verstappen under normal conditions,” the 53-year-old said.

“We have a deficit in keeping the tyres in the window. They are able to do that better and get faster.

“With us, we’re seeing a degradation because they’re simply getting too hot and that’s why I would have liked to be a bit closer to them, but that’s the reality.

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“It’s an impressive gap. It’s reminiscent to the years we had where just one and two disappear into the distance.

“But you must never give up. We’ve just done the first race weekend. We finished third and fourth.

“We are where we are and that’s why you can never take your foot off the throttle. We have to analyze what we can do in order to manage the tyre better.

“We’re not missing 20 points in downforce, that’s not the thing. It’s just literally on the mechanical side.

“In terms of, how do we prioritize 2026 versus this year just after the first race weekend, you have to keep your cool and continue your trajectory.”

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