With just two months until the 2021 F1 season gets underway in Bahrain, Sir Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are still yet to ink a deal.
Hamilton’s contract expired at the end of 2020, and the delay in him signing an extension with the Silver Arrows has prompted speculation about his future at the team.
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If reports are to be believed, the seven-time World Champion’s demands for a pay rise and a multi-year extension are holding up the negotiations.
Despite the delay, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said this week that he remains confident that they can come to a “reasonable agreement”, though he said he doesn’t think it will be a three-year deal.
He was later asked if he thinks an extension will be agreed “soon”, to which he replied: “Soon is a flexible term but yeah, soon.”
Wolff previously said he is confident a new deal with Sir Lewis Hamilton will be agreed just before pre-season testing in March at the very latest.
“Lewis is incredibly important, not only for our team but also for the Mercedes brand,” Wolff said this week.
“But the landscape is changing right now. We have a big regulation change next year and the cost cap that will hit us hard next year.
“These are all factors that have played a role in our discussions. Also, of course, looking at the future.
“And then it goes into detail and we don’t want to be put under pressure. It should be a reasonable agreement and we are not far away from that,” he added.
Earlier, Wolff denied playing the “George Russell card” to try to pressure Sir Lewis Hamilton into signing a new contract.
Formula1News.co.uk subsequently conducted a poll which found that 84 percent of its readers believe that the Mercedes F1 Team should drop Hamilton and sign George Russell.
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