Lewis Hamilton To Take Big Blow to $285 Million Net Worth As Doubts Loom Over Mercedes F1 Future

Payment reduction is expected to be a mighty issue for Mercedes, as Lewis Hamilton is yet to renew his contract with the team, thinks Martin Brundle. Hamilton, who’s worth over $285 million, will receive an enormous blow to his bank account if this turns out to be real.

As per Express UK, Brundle believes Hamilton and Mercedes are currently negotiating a deal. According to him, the Brackley-based team is considering reducing the star driver’s pay.

🚨 Toto Wolff has confirmed that he has spoken to Lewis Hamilton about a new contract at Mercedes but nothing is confirmed as yet. #F1 #W14 #LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/Vk62tjwOZV

— AnythingF1 (@AnythingF1_) February 15, 2023

The former F1 driver thinks there is pressure on Mercedes about the current pay of the seven-time world champion, and negotiation is very much on. The British commentator also said that Mercedes’ hierarchy is also stressed to reduce the driver’s salary.

In that case, the Briton would not be concerned about having a pay cut if performance is promised. But, if the pay is higher according to the new contract, why turn down the big paycheck? The seven-time world champion is contracted with the Silver Arrows till the end of the 2023 F1 season.

Hamilton blames top brass for W14 underperformance

For the back-to-back seasons, Mercedes failed to produce a championship contender challenger. After the tumultuous 2022 season, expectations were high regarding the 2023 challenger.

However, things remained the same and turned worse with W14. The new challenger has now become the fourth fastest in the sport after Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin.

“He has to make it clear that he’s not going to stick around if things don’t change and improve”

Damon Hill gives his thoughts on Lewis Hamilton’s opinion that Mercedes did not listen to his concerns about their 2023 car 👇 pic.twitter.com/HJSb8FQKUk

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 16, 2023

For this, the 38-year-old blames the Mercedes higher-ups. Hamilton said he had already warned the team and its engineers about their concept. The Briton also lashed out at the team in front of the media for not listening to him over development.

The Briton surprisingly praised rival RB19

When the W14 hasn’t been delivering as expected, the RB19 is yet again dominating the grid by winning races, taking poles, grabbing the fastest laps, and zooming past the rivals.

The RB19’s speed fascinated the Silver Arrows ace and his boss so much that he hailed the rival car in front of the media. He called it the fastest car he had ever seen in the sport and said that his team was fast, but they weren’t that fast!

This has come right after the RB19 of Max Verstappen zoomed past the Mercedes driver in the Jeddah race. He further emphasized that he didn’t bother to block the Red Bull because of the massive pace advantage.