Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed that Lewis Hamilton was nearly made sick by him, after asking the seven-time World Champion how he’d feel if the Silver Arrows’ garage played a famous AC/DC track before a race.
Wolff supposedly asked Hamilton how he’d feel if Mercedes blared out ‘Thunderstruck’ as the 38-year-old and George Russell exit the garage, to which the veteran declared it would make him “puke”.
The team principal revealed Hamilton’s comical moment when speaking to the BBC about his and the Mercedes driver’s music taste, which the Austrian believes is “similar”.
Despite this, he admits that Hamilton’s music preferences are “much more sophisticated”.
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“I think we have a similar music taste,” Wolff told the BBC.
“Obviously, his is much more sophisticated – but many years ago, I said to him, ‘What would you think if we were to play AC/DC’s Thunderstruck in the garage before going out with the cars, to have all the mechanics listen to this?’ and he said, ‘It would make me puke!’”
Wolff and Hamilton certainly know each other incredibly well, with the pair having worked together at Mercedes since 2013.
As a result, the duo has grown very close over the years, to the point where Wolff sees Hamilton as a “friend” rather than a colleague.
Despite this, a new contract for Hamilton is yet to be finalised, with time quickly running out.
Hamilton’s current deal is due to expire at the end of 2023, meaning the driver is on the verge of entering 2024 as a free agent.
Unless something truly unexpected happens, Hamilton will still enter next season as a Mercedes driver, with a new deal set to be close.
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Wolff and Hamilton have both stressed to the media that a contract will be sorted, although this has been stated now for some time.
Little is known about when the contract could be signed, with some final details still being discussed.
The hope will be that Mercedes can offer Hamilton a competitive package in 2024 to allow him to fight Max Verstappen, in an attempt to claim an unprecedented eighth title.