Lewis Hamilton has reportedly been known to have signed a two-year contract extension with Mercedes, according to recent reports within the paddock. During the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff revealed that while the formal signature is yet to be inked, the contract negotiations have been completed “emotionally” and a handshake.
The delay in the official announcement has sparked curiosity, with Hamilton’s former teammate, Nico Rosberg, expressing surprise at the time it is taking.
“Can someone tell me what it means when a contract is emotionally done?” Hamilton’s former teammate Nico Rosberg said.
“I have no idea why Lewis is taking so much time.”
Rosberg’s comments on Hungary performance
Despite the wait, former F1 driver, champion and team mate to Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, has praised Hamilton’s recent performances, especially his pole position in Hungary, describing it as a magical moment and an artistic display of driving.
“I’ve seen these magical moments up close for years, and his lap in qualifying was one of those moments,” said Rosberg,
“That was no longer driving a racing car, it was more of an art.”
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Hamilton demands change from Mercedes
However, Hamilton himself admitted that he hasn’t been in top form for more than a year, with the Hungarian Grand Prix being an exception to his recent struggles. Despite his pole position, Hamilton acknowledges that Mercedes is still behind Red Bull and even McLaren in race pace.
The aim is improving the car’s performance and wants Mercedes to move in the direction of Red Bull regarding downforce and aerodynamics says the seven-time champion:
“I keep repeating to the team that we need to go in the direction of Red Bull,” he told DAZN.
“Generally we have more rear wing than the rest.
“It seems that they have more downforce on their floor. I don’t care if it’s with this year’s car or the next one, we need to go in that direction.”
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Wolff unhappy with Hungary performance
Wolff, the team principal, has also acknowledged that Mercedes missed out on a podium opportunity in Hungary due to factors other than strategy. He believes the team had the second fastest car after Red Bull, and their potential was not fully utilised.
“The strategy was good. We had the second fastest car – only Max Verstappen was faster,” he told Sky Deutschland.
Wolff expressed further disappointment, stating, “The only thing that was good today was George’s driving. We have to look at everything else.” The team boss was particularly critical of Hamilton’s performance, remarking,
“I think we lost a podium.”
Wolff critical of Hamilton
While Wolff admits that Mercedes had the second fastest car, with only Verstappen being faster, he believes they failed to fully utilize its potential.
Wolff says: “He can’t blame the Mercedes strategists for the race performance“. Still, he doesn’t seem happy when he says: “I think we had the second fastest car. In fact, only Max [Verstappen] was faster. But we just didn’t use the potential.”
Shock comments from the Austrian who would never normally throw his ‘star driver’ under the bus publically.
Lando attacks Hamilton
The competition between British drivers in Formula 1 has also been a topic of discussion. After Lando Norris finished second in Hungary, he refuted Hamilton’s complaints about McLaren’s car being better.
Norris pointed out that Mercedes has not had a bad car all season and highlighted that Hamilton has never experienced racing in 19th or 20th position, a common occurrence for other drivers.
“I know Lewis complains a lot about how amazing our car is and how bad theirs is, but they don’t have a bad car. And they haven’t had a bad car all season.”
“Yesterday,” the McLaren driver added, “Lewis complained about how tough it is finishing outside first position. Try racing in 19th and 20th!
“He’s never done that in his life,” Norris insisted.
“That’s the only thing Lewis hasn’t done in Formula 1.”
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It’s impossible to come to Spa and not look back at this mega lap⚡️
Lewis’ pole position in the W11 🐐
Magic 😍
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) July 24, 2023
2 year extension confirmed by Wolff
While the contract extension is yet to be formally sealed, the reporter Phoenix from Sky Deutschland claims to have been informed by Wolff that Hamilton has now signed for two more years, extending his stay with Mercedes until 2025.
“It’s already quite clear that Hamilton will drive for Mercedes next year,” Bild newspaper added. “It just needs to be formally sealed.”
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