After months of unexplained delays, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said a new Formula 1 contract extension with superstar Lewis Hamilton to be signed in a matter of days.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team CEO Toto Wolff told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” program on Monday that a new deal will happen soon with six months remaining on the current contract.
“We are still talking, we get this question basically every race weekend,” Wolff said. “We’ve got such a good relationship we dread the moment we have to talk about money. It is going to happen soon.”
Wolff said he would like to get an agreement before the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday: “I think we’re talking more days than weeks but if I commit to a date now then everyone is going to ask me over the weekend what happened to the days,” Wolff said about the time frame for a potential deal.
Hamilton is a seven-time F1 champion who joined Mercedes in 2013, as did Wolff. The 38-year-old British driver also said recently an announcement was imminent while also dealing with rumours that the rival Ferrari racing team was putting together a $48-million contract offer. Ferrari team’s principal Frederic Vasseur also denied the report as “rubbish” in May.
Hamilton is reportedly on $40-million a year, and if there is any hitch in extending the baulking points may be the question of his salary, as well as the length, with speculation a sticking point is the length of the new contract, with the driver said to be pushing for a multi-year deal with Mercedes keen on a year-by-year one.
Why the delay to ink a contract that appeared to be a formality in winter?
Whatever the cause of the delay in signing the new deal, it has been protracted as the timeline below shows:
- December: At the end of 2022, Wolff says the Hamilton with Hamilton will be sorted during the winter;
- January: There is no rush according to the Merc team boss;
- March: Early in the month as Mercedes realise they have a below par car the talks are put on ice according to Wolff;
- May: The first time Toto admits that talks with Lewis are not smooth as expected;
- June: All good is good again it seems as now only time for a coffee stands in the way of Lewis putting his name to the papers.
Montreal is a special place for Hamilton and would be fitting for an announcement. It is the venue of his first Grand Pix victory and also the place where in 2017 he matched his idol Ayrton Senna’s record of 65 pole positions. Including that first win in 2007, Hamilton has won the Canadian Grand Prix seven times, matching Michael Schumacher’s record at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Will the Great Inking happen this weekend in Montreal? Let’s see because at times it’s hard to believe a word they say in the Piranha Pool that is the F1 paddock. Wolff-speak taking Ron-speak to another level of incomprehensible fuzziness to reveal little at all of what actually is going on behind the scenes. And that’s where these deals are done. (Additional Reporting by Reuters)