Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff believes Lewis Hamilton’s body language is giving away “quite telling” signs regarding his future with Mercedes, as the seven-time World Champion approaches the end of his current deal.
Hamilton’s deal is due to expire at the end of 2023; however, both the 38-year-old and team principal Toto Wolff have expressed to the media that a new multi-year deal will eventually be signed.
As of yet, though, nothing has been signed but perhaps Hamilton’s recent positive outlook on the team’s situation is a sign that a new contract is in the works.
“His face was quite telling there. A little bit of a nod. If you think of where he was last season it’s a big change,” Schiff told Sky Sports F1.
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Hamilton was incredibly critical of Mercedes following the opening two rounds of the season, with the 103-time race winner having hit out at the team for not listening to his feedback during the winter.
He was often heard complaining about the W14 in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia; however, he’s become much more positive as of late, perhaps due to the fact that Mercedes are going to be introducing a new concept of the W14 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
It could well be that the new concept has been influenced by Hamilton’s feedback, with the driver noting during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that the Germans are currently boasting “such a winning mindset”.
“The mentality of the team is great, there is such a winning mindset and everyone is focused on progressing and getting to where we know we can get to,” Hamilton said in Baku.
“I don’t think there are any mistakes or any failures. I think this is just the build of getting to where we need to be.
“Everyone is staying positive in the garage, everyone is just doing their jobs to the best of their ability and that is all we can ask for right now until we get those upgrades which will hopefully put us much more in the fight.”
Hamilton enjoyed a solid weekend at the Baku City Circuit and added a reasonable number of points to his tally, after finishing seventh in the sprint race and sixth in Sunday’s main race.
He remains fourth in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, a venue which could be tricky for the Silver Arrows.
The Stevenage-born driver also addressed the rumours linking Charles Leclerc to Mercedes whilst in Baku, after it was reported by Italian media that the Monegasque is having secret conversations with the team about replacing Hamilton.
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Despite the rumours which have been quashed by Leclerc and Wolff, Hamilton doesn’t particularly care about what’s being said, with the Briton continuing to “love my team”.
“No, not really, I think maybe some of the drivers all have different relationships with different bosses and stuff,” Hamilton added.
“I like where I am, I love my team, and I’m grateful for the journey we’ve been on and what we’re working on moving forwards.”