Towards the end of last season, it was heavily rumoured that Lewis Hamilton would be extending his contract with Mercedes, in an attempt to win a record breaking eighth world championship before he retires.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that this would be the case but with the winter break now over and the 2023 season underway, nothing has been signed yet.
The Silver Arrows have started the season poorly with P5 and P7 finished in Bahrain from Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, finishing 50 seconds being race winner Max Verstappen.
Mercedes decided to stick with their zero sidepod approach and Wolff has already admitted that this was a mistake, suggesting that the title is already out of reach for Mercedes this year.
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With Hamilton’s contract running out and no extension in the imminent future, it has been rumoured that the Brit could jump ship at the end of the season, with Ferrari being a possible destination.
Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle has suggested that Hamilton should look at some of F1’s past icons when deciding his future, with many motorsport legends moving teams during their career.
“There’s a lot of good reasons for him to stay at Mercedes, they just need to tell him how they’re going to sort this out,” began Brundle.
“But Senna left McLaren to go to Williams, Schumacher went off to Ferrari and took a long time but made it work.
“So these great drivers aren’t scared of going somewhere and then galvanising and getting a lot of new people around them and making something happen.
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“There must be part of Lewis that thinks, ‘I’d love to go to Ferrari and do a Michael Schumacher. If I can’t win my eighth or ninth now, why don’t I go and have some fun there’.”
Hamilton has claimed that these links to Ferrari are nonsense and that he will certainly stay with Mercedes next season but as the Silver Arrows continue to falter, the rumours will continue to intensify.
As well as upgrading the W14, Mercedes will be keen to tie Hamilton down to a new contract as soon as possible, with talks getting underway over the winter.