2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button is certain that former McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton will be on the grid in 2024, despite his Mercedes contract expiring this season.
Hamilton’s future has been one of the talking points of the season so far, due to the fact that the 38-year-old was expected to sign a new deal for 2024 onwards ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Whilst this wasn’t done, both Hamilton and team principal Toto Wolff have stressed to the media that a new contract will be signed this season, when there is time to sit down and talk.
As expected, his seat is continuing to be linked to other drivers given that the deal isn’t yet signed, most notably, Charles Leclerc.
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Italian media reported that Leclerc had been holding secret talks with Mercedes about replacing Hamilton, something the Monegasque and Wolff firmly denied.
The seven-time World Champion very much remains part of Mercedes’ plans, with him set to extend his stay at Brackley until the end of 2025.
Button is certain that Hamilton won’t retire this season due to the Stevenage-born driver being hungry to return to winning ways, something he has been so used to for the vast majority of his F1 career.
“As a racing driver, if you’ve been winning for so long and then you’re suddenly not, you want to fight back to winning – so you’re not going to retire,” Button told Sky Sports F1.
“Or, to come at it another way, if you’re in a bad car for many years, you want to retire – because it just gets you down. But Lewis is not in a bad car, he’s just in a car that is not as good as what he is used to.”
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If anyone can get the Silver Arrows back to the top it’s Hamilton, with Button adding that he expects Mercedes to be “back to fighting with Red Bull” next season.
“He knows the strength of the team, he knows how quick he is still and they’re going to work together to get back to fighting with Red Bull. And I think they will,” Button added.
“It probably won’t be this year. But in 2024, I think we see Lewis on the grid. He’s still hungry to win another world championship.”