Lewis Hamilton Mercedes contract: Mercedes driver and seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is in no rush to extend his contract despite being in the final year of his deal. Hamilton, who has been linked with the Silver Arrows since 2013, was earlier reluctant on the progress of talks to extend the deal. But the English driver confirmed that talks are open.
Speaking ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, Hamilton was asked about his contract talks. When asked whether he and Wolff had “hooked up” as scheduled, Hamilton tried to brush it off. “We’ve never connected,” Hamilton said. He was then asked if he had gone to meet his team boss Toto Wolff for pizza. The driver replied, “We’ve never had pizza.”
Then in the third attempt he broke the silence. “I’ve seen Toto, we’ve talked a few times,” Hamilton said. “Yeah. Nothing more real to add really,” added the British driver.
Hamilton is looking for a multi-year extension and the deal could be done at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he took his first career F1 win in 2007 and his seventh. But Hamilton isn’t worried about the timeline. “I don’t really have a huge amount to say on the contract side of things,” Hamilton said. “It will happen when it happens. If it’s next week, if it’s in a month’s time, as long as it’s done, it doesn’t really bother me,” he said.
Notably, Wolff had previously said that the deal would be finalized soon. It’s going to happen soon, and we’re talking more days than weeks,” Wolff said on the “Squawk on the Street” program.
From a team perspective, Lewis and Mercedes go back a long time.
“We both teamed up together in 2013 and from a professional relationship, we now have a friendship. It’s been an amazing time,” continued Wolff. “He is the most important personality in the sport. He is so multi-faceted, not only racing but also off track, so we need to keep him in the sport for as long as possible.