McLaren will have no problem forgetting Hamilton
Hamilton leaves to join Mercedes following six seasons with the team in Formula One and a further seven as part of the team's driver development programme. While admitting that Hamilton's departure would be "a loss to McLaren", Michael said such changes are regular occurrences that teams learn to deal with.
"Of course it's a loss to McLaren but just like if anybody leaves, whether it's a driver – there have been some very big, famous names leave McLaren before in terms of drivers – and you don't dwell on it," Michael told James Allen on F1. "You move on quickly because Formula One's all about change management."
Michael also said that Hamilton leaves on good terms, with the team understanding his decision to move is not down to a McLaren failing.
"I think the whole team gets on very well with Lewis, and we still do. He's a great guy, he's a fantastic racing driver; he's possibly the quickest driver on the grid at the moment in terms of pure natural talent.
"Lewis has been associated with McLaren for 17 years, and he's been contracted for the last 13 plus – that's a long time with one place and I think it simply comes down to that. There is nothing deeper than the fact that he wants to move on and grow and do different things with his life and that's more important to him, even though he steps out of a winning grand prix car right now. He wants to take on the challenge of developing another team and bringing them up, a team that's not winning races at the moment, and it's something that he wanted to do."