Toto Wolff confirmed he will be having contract talks with Lewis Hamilton over the winter break, as the Briton’s current deal with the team expires at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
Many have been doubting the seven-time F1 Champion’s motivation to keep going in the sport after losing the Title to Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi in 2021, and especially after the below par season he suffered in 2022 with Mercedes dropping the ball with their W13.
That meant Hamilton could not take another shot at a record-breaking eighth F1 crown in 2022, with more intra-team competition now in the form of young gun George Russell who beat his teammate on his debut season with Mercedes.
However, Hamilton has been insisting that he is not done yet with F1 and said back in October that another deal with Mercedes is on the way, and now Toto Wolff confirmed that talks regarding this deal will be happening over the winter break ahead of the 2023 season.
Speaking to Beyond the Grid podcast, Wolff revealed that one of the tasks on his to-do-list over the winter would be sorting out Hamilton’s contract.
Lewis part of the team, the team part of him
“Well, the job list is pretty long in what is needed to be done,” he said. “But certainly, Lewis’ contract is one of the topics that we will tackle over the winter. But there is no firm deadline.”
Wolff went on to assure his confidence in Hamilton remaining on board, responding by: “Absolutely,” when asked how confident he is about that matter.
“Lewis is part of the team and the team is part of Lewis. There is no reason to not continue,” he added. “I think one of his strengths is that he is always hungry, he is always eager.
“He is a great sportsman but he is also someone who is extremely driven and determined,” the Austrian maintained.
Hamilton will start his 11th season with the Silver Arrows in 2023, his last on his current contract, and it would be interesting to see how long he decides to extend his stay with them, especially that he said before that he be driving at 40, which he’ll be in 2025.
Since joining Mercedes, Hamilton amassed 82 of his 103 grand prix wins winning six of his seven Titles with them, his first being with McLaren in 2008.