Lewis Hamilton has until preseason testing to sign new Mercedes deal

Mercedes staff principal Toto Wolff has no doubt Lewis Hamilton will indication a contract extension preserving him at System Just one champions Mercedes, expressing the two functions experienced till the commence of tests next year to get the deal finished.

The 35-year-old Hamilton, who wrapped up a report-equalling seventh environment championship title this season and became the most prosperous driver in F1 history, is out of contract at the end of this year.

Concerns about a contract extension have dogged Wolff and Hamilton all season, with the Mercedes seat the only a person on the F1 grid nonetheless to be officially crammed.

“If you refer to why have not we acquired a signed contract, the rationale is very simple — we generally prioritized about obtaining this championship finished and not staying distracted by sometimes hard discussions…” Wolff, who led Mercedes to a report seventh straight title double this year, claimed on Friday.

“But then COVID struck. It has delayed us a very little bit but we are not apprehensive in sooner or later obtaining it finished. Sooner or afterwards it requires to be finished, the hottest right before we go tests.”

Wolff was speaking immediately after Mercedes previously on Friday announced designs for petrochemical huge Ineos to purchase a person-third of its System Just one staff, sharing equivalent possession with father or mother corporation Daimler AG and the Austrian.

As part of the deal, it was announced the 48-year-old Wolff, who has also faced inquiries about his long term, will continue to be on in his role as main executive and staff principal for another three years.

Hamilton, who enjoys a close rapport with Wolff, hailed the enhancement and claimed he would open up talks with him around the next handful of times.

The Briton, who earns an estimated forty million lbs . ($54.02 million) a year, experienced prepared to phase up talks regarding his new deal around F1’s Center Japanese triple header, but tested beneficial for COVID-19 and was pressured to skip a race.

“We have not began a dialogue,” Hamilton, who returned for the Abu Dhabi season finale very last Sunday, claimed in a digital media conference forward of the governing FIA’s annual prize providing ceremony. “Toto and I system to do that around the coming times.”

F1 tests is established to just take area at the starting of March next year, with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix scheduled for afterwards the identical thirty day period.