Lewis Hamilton has been all over the news for the past few weeks as he is yet to sign a contract extension with Mercedes. Even though Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has stated on multiple occasions that the two parties are close to reaching to an agreement, nothing is official yet. And as these talks continue to linger on, there were also reports that the contract negotiations came to a pause in between when the Briton demanded a whopping $250,000,000 deal. However, Wolff has dismissed the same and has revealed that only “trivial hold-ups” remain now.
The Austrian made these remarks after Business F1 reported that Hamilton had demanded a five-year contract that would pay him $50,000,000 each year. The report also added that even though Mercedes eventually agreed on the Briton’s salary demand, they were not ready to offer him an extension this long.
“We owe him an 8th World Championship” 🏆
Toto Wolff has nothing but praise for Lewis Hamilton’s impact both on and off the track 👊 pic.twitter.com/w6FkqN2eRt
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 4, 2023
This was not the only rumor surrounding Hamilton’s contract though, as there were also speculations that the 38-year-old will also sign an ambassadorial role with the team. However, Wolff has denied the same as well, stating that he still believes that Hamilton can still drive for a few more years.
Toto Wolff explains why there is a delay in extending Lewis Hamilton’s contract
While speaking to the media recently, Toto Wolff provided some important clarifications surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s contract situation. As quoted by racingnews365.com, the Austrian began his remarks by making it clear that the team is not thinking about making the 38-year-old an ambassador at the moment.
Wolff then went on to add why it is taking so long to extend Hamilton’s deal. “It is simply down to trivial things that just need to be cleaned up in the contract,” explained Wolff. After stating the same, the 51-year-old explained Hamilton’s long allegiance with the team.
Wolff stated, “He’s been a Mercedes driver since he was eight or 10 years old, when he had the AMG visor, and then obviously the years with McLaren in the Mercedes family and then 10 or 11 years in the Mercedes works team. He’s synonymous with Mercedes as he is synonymous for his career“.
It is this strong bond that Hamilton has with Mercedes that makes Wolff confident that the seven-time world champion will eventually extend his stay at the team. However, while these talks continue to take place, it is important to note that Hamilton himself is not involved in the negotiations. Instead, the Briton has appointed a management team as he finds such negotiations “stressful“.
Lewis Hamilton had hoped to sign a new Mercedes deal in a few weeks
In an interview with Sky Sports towards the end of May this year, Lewis Hamilton revealed that he should sign a contract extension with Mercedes within a few weeks. However, a few months have passed now and the Briton is yet to sign a new deal, thereby resulting in the speculations.
In the same interview, the Briton also stated that he does not have much information regarding the same as his team is engaging in the contract negotiations. Hence, considering that the two parties have repeatedly stated that they are close to coming to an agreement, it seems likely that Mercedes and Hamilton will sign a new deal during the summer break.
