Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expects to sign a new contract with Lewis Hamilton within a matter of days.
Hamilton’s contract to drive for the team expires at the end of this season. Wolff said the two sides are “trying hard” to get a deal done and expect to make an announcement soon. The eighth round of the championship will take place in Canada this weekend.“I think we’re talking more days than weeks,” Wolff told CNBC yesterday. “But if I commit to a date now then everybody’s going to ask in Montreal on the weekend what’s happened to the days.”
“We are still talking,” he added. “We get this question basically every race weekend. We have such a good relationship that we dread the moment we need to talk about money. It’s going to happen soon.”
Reports that Hamilton had been courted by Ferrari were recently dismissed by all sides. Wolff has no doubt he wishes to remain at Mercedes, having won six world titles for them since joining a decade ago.
“From the team’s perspective, Lewis and Mercedes have gone back a long time,” said Wolff. “He’s never raced for any brand other than Mercedes. Him and me, we joined in 2013 together, 10 years it’s been, and from a professional relationship we’ve come to a friendship.
“It’s been a wonderful time. He’s the most important personality in the sport. He’s so multi-faceted, not only in the racing but also off-track, and we need to keep him in the sport as long as possible.”
Hamilton has not won a race since narrowly missing out on what would have been a record-breaking eighth world championship with the team in a controversial end to the 2021 season. Following a significant upgrade introduced by the team at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago, Wolff believes they are finally on the right path.
“We’ve done a few mis-steps on the engineering side, on our technical decisions,” he said. “But it’s physics, not mystics, and therefore we’re really coming back.
“We’ve had a good result last weekend finishing second and third and it’s just a matter of time to catch up, I have no doubt about it.”
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Witan
13th June 2023, 12:34
I am heartily sick of the yearly contract saga from Hamilton.
Simon
13th June 2023, 20:52
Same here. Even in this report, it’s “days”, “weeks”, “soon”…
Yada yada yada…
MadMax (@madmax)
14th June 2023, 11:52
how about reading the other articles then? i guess everyone should pick those, which he is interested in.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
13th June 2023, 17:07
Please, please, please go to Ferrari. Please.
Todfod (@todfod)
14th June 2023, 12:23
@sonnycrockett
A Leclerc – Hamilton swap would definitely be exciting for the sport. We can finally see if Leclerc can deliver when driving for a top team.. and hopefully, Lewis’ experience will push an amateurish Ferrari to a higher level. I don’t think Hamilton would ever fight for an 8th world title with Ferrari again though.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
13th June 2023, 18:25
Shades of 2020, where both sides insisted a deal was just around the corner for months on end, with Hamilton eventually re-committing just before pre-season testing began for 2021.
That being said, this time in 2020 the season hadn’t even started, so there is time for it to be sorted out yet.
Qeki (@qeki)
13th June 2023, 19:03
He made one bold move and it was a jackpot It seems like he doesn’t want to do that anymore
ajaya
13th June 2023, 22:57
nobody wants him!
everyone has their drivers they need
Todfod (@todfod)
14th June 2023, 12:24
Haas would disagree… so would Ferrari… and Mclaren… and Alpine… and Alpha Tauri… hang on, anytime other than Red Bull would want to sign Hamilton.
melanos
16th June 2023, 21:43
Why not? Bad examples are always useful
Nick T.
14th June 2023, 18:11
And it wasn’t even that bold. It was clear to anyone with a clue that Merc with Brawn at the helm were going places, especially with two of the greatest ever drivers in the area of technical feedback (MSC and NR) developing the car alongside him along with MSC’s legendary work ethic.
Illusive (@illusive)
14th June 2023, 8:53
And out of no where Lawrence Stroll swoops Lewis to his team.
melanos
16th June 2023, 21:41
As an accountant, most likely