Major update issued as Lewis Hamilton Mercedes contract saga rolls on

While Lewis Hamilton is yet to put pen to paper on a Mercedes contract extension, Formula 1 correspondent Lawrence Barretto says it is a “matter of when, not if” that deal is confirmed.

Verbally, Hamilton and his Mercedes team have committed to extending their partnership in Formula 1, though that is yet to be set in stone via a signed contract.

Hamilton has batted away rumours linking him with a switch to Ferrari, but with a fresh Mercedes deal having apparently been on the brink of finalisation for months now, questions continue to be asked.

Lewis Hamilton staying with Mercedes a formality

The Mercedes team in F1 2023 is suffering a second campaign in a row where they have fallen short of the title battle, with McLaren having joined them in the scrap also featuring Aston Martin and Ferrari over that ‘best of the rest’ P2 spot.

But, even though Hamilton has made it abundantly clear that winning a record eighth World Championship is his goal, Barretto says Hamilton will continue to bet on Mercedes being the team that can unlock that possibility.

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“The best seat still technically available for 2024 sits at Mercedes alongside George Russell – but in reality it’s a matter of when, rather than if, Lewis Hamilton finally puts pen to paper to keep it in his possession and extend his stay at the Silver Arrows,” Barretto wrote in his piece for the Formula 1 website.

“Neither Mercedes boss Toto Wolff nor Hamilton appear stressed by the amount of time it is taking to get a new deal over the line. They’ve both said that the key terms – including money and length of the arrangement – have been agreed.

“It’s just, as Wolff puts it, ‘trivial things that need to be cleaned up’ in the contract before it all gets signed off.

“Hamilton has left it late to sign a new deal in the past. It wasn’t until the eve of pre-season in 2021 that he inked a one-year extension to race in that upcoming campaign. Just six months later, he penned a new two-year deal, taking him up to the end of 2023.

“The 38-year-old reckons he can race on for at least another five years, the Briton believing he still has what it takes to win a record eighth World Championship.

“And having spent his whole career with the Mercedes family, from backing in karting to making his F1 debut with the Mercedes-powered McLaren team to spending the last decade with the works outfit, it’s more than likely he’ll continue with the Silver Arrows for the foreseeable.”

Hamilton’s more immediate target will be to secure P3 in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship, the gap to the driver currently holding that spot, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, standing at just one point.

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