Towards the end of the 2022 season, both Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolf were very clear about the Brit’s contract situation, claiming that he would 100 percent be committing his future to Mercedes.
It seemed obvious that Hamilton would sign a contract extension with the Silver Arrows over the winter break, but with pre-season only a week away, there has still been no official news on the deal.
Wolff has been quick to ease the concerns of the fans, telling the media that the matter was a formality and therefore it had been pushed to the back of Mercedes’ off-season agenda.
The negotiations were also not helped by the fact that Hamilton was barely in the UK over the winter, with the Brit spending his birthday in January exploring Antarctica.
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Heading into the 2023 season, Wolff has now provided a positive update on Hamilton’s contract situation, claiming that they only need to address the finer details before making it official.
“Out talks have always been going OK. I think we’ve done it three time now,” said the Austrian.
“We are changing a sentence, or a word, or a number here and there. He wouldn’t want a zero less!
“All is going to be good. I don’t think this is about closure for him. An eighth title would be wonderful because he deserves it, and only he and Michael Schumacher have seven.
“It’s more about doing what he loves, what he does best. If we provide him with a good car, there is nothing between him and an eighth title.”
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Mercedes are confident that the W14 with be much more competitive that last season’s car, which struggled massively with both performance and a porpoising issue under the new regulations.
George Russell has refused to reveal whether the Silver Arrow’s bouncing problem has returned this year, with the team expected to sandbag and hide their true potential until the 2023 season gets underway next month in Bahrain.
Russell outscored Hamilton last season but every Formula 1 fan know by now, when the pressure is on and there is a title at stake, Hamilton becomes a different beast.