Lewis Hamilton confirms truth of key part of Mercedes negotiations as talks continue

Henry Valantine 06 Jul 2023 3:56 PM

Lewis Hamilton in the press conference. Silverstone July 2023.

Lewis Hamilton confirmed that negotiations over his Mercedes future have progressed beyond his salary and the duration of his new deal, with other topics currently being discussed as the contract progresses.

The seven-time World Champion has been locked in negotiations with Mercedes over extending his current deal, which expires at the end of the year, and Hamilton has said previously that it goes beyond a “simple driving contract”.

Team principal Toto Wolff said recently that discussions with Hamilton had gone beyond talking about money and how long his new contract would last, and the 38-year-old himself has now confirmed this to be the case.

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

Lewis Hamilton contract talks advancing with Mercedes

The talk surrounding Hamilton’s future has been one of the underlying talking points of the 2023 Formula 1 season so far, with Mercedes starting the season on the back foot after an off-colour 2022 season by their high standards.

Hamilton and Wolff had initially planned to agree a new deal in the off-season, but negotiations have continued into this year and the seven-time World Champion has been asked on an almost race-by-race basis about how talks are progressing, with rumours from Italy having linked him with a surprise move to Ferrari earlier in the year.

不过,汉密尔顿重申,他支持Mercedes and his hopes to stay with the team on numerous occasions.

“Yep, that’s correct,” Hamilton told media including PlanetF1.com at Silverstone when asked directly if Wolff’s recent comments regarding his deal were true.

Andwhen addressing the blunt radio exchange between the twoat the Red Bull Ring, when Wolff came onto team radio to say: “Lewis, the car is bad, we know, please drive it,” after Hamilton had been complaining about other drivers not being penalised for track limits infringements, he explained that the directness between them is a key facet of their decade-long working relationship.

“The best thing about our partnership is that we can be direct with each other and Toto is just an out-and-out racer, so he was just trying to encourage me. That was his way of doing it,” Hamilton explained.

“We always learn from our last races, plus on my side, I’ve reviewed my comments and where I was at mentally and we’ll make sure I adjust that for the future and I feel supported.”

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Lewis Hamilton: I still have ‘100% faith’ in Mercedes

Hamilton discussed the work that has already gone on behind the scenes at Brackley and Brixworth this year to try and make Mercedes competitive, and he revealed that he has had meetings this week to talk about improvements to the car for both 2023 and 2024 already.

“I’m thinking before the end of the season that we’ll be already well into the contract,” Hamilton stated.

“I still have 100% faith in this team, and it has taken longer for all of us to get to where we want to be, and it’s definitely not easy, but I believe that we will get there.

“We’ve just got to continue to work and chip away at it, and that’s what we’re trying to do. So that’s why we’ve got the upgrade here for the front wing.

“We’ll have bits over the following races hopefully, it couldn’t come soon enough. But I’m pushing as hard as I can.

“I was having big meetings with the team earlier this week, speaking to head of aero, head of vehicle dynamics, also with what’s in mind for next year’s car.”