Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ contract extension ‘soap opera’ has been going on for a long time. With neither of the parties providing any concrete updates, fans, and experts have all been scratching their heads thinking about it. However, David Croft has finally arrived with the date that announces Hamilton’s stay with the Silver Arrows.
Hamilton and his team have been in contract negotiations for months now. In between all these, rumors came up about the seven-time world champion jumping ship to Ferrari next year as his contract expires with Mercedes at the end of this season.
Admittedly, the latest contract negotiations took longer than expected, as the British driver wanted more than just a year’s stay with the Silver Arrows. Apart from the seat, he also wanted to have the role of the brand ambassador of the German automotive giants.
Nevertheless, now that both sides publicly agreed on signing the deal, the official announcement is just the need of the hour, and Crofty knows when the announcement might arrive.
Lewis Hamilton expected to sign the new contract
The Sky Sports commentator is of the opinion that the Brackley-based team will announce the stay of their star driver in the upcoming race in Silverstone in July this year.
Crofty, told Sky Sports, “Lewis wants to stay at Mercedes and Mercedes wants to stay with him, it will be done. It’s not going to be about money.”
Vintage Lewis. 📹 pic.twitter.com/4mw1g76Thv
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 23, 2023
“It’s going to be about support for the Hamilton commission, support with the various things that Lewis wants to do – links in the future, maybe a role of ambassador,” further asserted the British commentator as per LaSexta.
As per Croft, Mercedes announcing Hamilton at Silverstone, which is the driver’s home race, will be a logical move. Firstly, it’s the track that gave the Stevenage-born his maximum success in his F1 career and secondly, this is the race where Mercedes will be bringing in massive upgrades, as they hope to grab their first win of the season.
Hamilton’s new contract with Mercedes
Despite having the contract under him for at least the next year, it is believed that he will not have certain expectations met with his new agreement.
It is believed that the seven-time world champion’s demand to stay as the brand ambassador for the team he represented has been blocked by the higher-ups.
A deal, potentially worth around $245 million, is believed to be of 2-years in length. The 38-year-old signed a contract of similar length in 2021, and considering his age, a long-term contract seems impossible.
