Lewis Hamilton ended all speculations over his future a few months ago when he finally signed a two-year contract extension worth $100,000,000 with Mercedes. Prior to him extending his deal, there were rumors that he was considering a shocking move to Ferrari. While the 38-year-old denied all such reports previously, he has now admitted that he did have some talks with the Italian outfit. Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also admitted that the negotiations between himself and Hamilton were “tricky” during this duration.
While speaking in an interview (as quoted by crash.net), the Austrian explained why the talks were “tricky” by stating (as quoted by racingnews365.com), “The negotiations with Lewis are always different because we talk when we see each other and then sometimes we both disappear into different parts of the world and then it’s tricky“.
Lewis Hamilton admits he had discussions with Ferrari
While recently giving an interview to German newspaper Blick, Lewis Hamilton admitted that he had talks with Ferrari before signing his contract extension with Mercedes. However, he made it clear that the Prancing Horse “never” formally put a contract in front of him.
After stating the same, he added (as quoted by racingnews365.com) “Okay, I’m sure we’ve had a few casual conversations. I know a lot of good people there. But I never felt ready to move to Italy“.
Fred Vasseur on Lewis Hamilton: “I think every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage. I think it would be buIIshit to not say something like this.” 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/l7GA64HGgt
— t 🌿 (@formullana) May 25, 2023
Meanwhile, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur had also previously admitted that he has had casual conversations with Hamilton previously. While speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Frenchman stated that he speaks to the 38-year-old at every race because the seven-time champion raced for him 20 years ago.
However, he believes that a “big fuss” is made because of the connection that the two have. While Vasseur was having such casual conversations with Hamilton, Toto Wolff said that he was doing everything in his potential to convince the Briton to stay at the team.
Wolff wanted Hamilton to be a part of Mercedes’ “resurrection“
The Mercedes F1 team have struggled in the 2023 season as they have been way off the pace set by newly crowned Constructors’ Champions Red Bull. The Milton Keynes outfit have already won the title with six races remaining in the campaign, whereas the Silver Arrows are still looking for their first win this year.
In such a difficult time, Toto Wolff understood that he needed to keep his best resources in the team. As a result, he admitted in a conversation a few months ago that he was doing everything in his potential at the time to convince Lewis Hamilton to stay at the team.
When asked on BBC’s Desert Island Discs if Hamilton will extend his deal, the Austrian replied, “I very much hope so. I’m doing everything I can to keep him going“. Wolff then concluded his remarks by stating that he wants the 103-time Grand Prix winner to be a part of Mercedes’ “resurrection” following their massive struggles in the 2023 season.
