Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that Lewis Hamilton’s new contract simply needs to be “cleaned up” before it can be announced, with some “trivial things” still needing to be sorted.
Hamilton will as it stands become a free agent at the end of 2023, with a new deal with Mercedes yet to be confirmed.
However, both Wolff and the seven-time World Champion have informed the media several times recently that a new deal will be sorted.
It had been pondered whether a reason for the delay was because of Hamilton wanting a Mercedes ambassadorial role; however, Wolff has denied this as being the case.
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“No, we’re not talking about an ambassadorial role post his retirement, nor is that part of the contract negotiations,” Wolff said, as reported by Speedcafe.com.
“He has many years to go as a driver within this team, and therefore, it’s only about cleaning things up in the contract.
“I know it looks a little bit ‘Why is this not being done and dusted?’, but it’s simply down to trivial things that just need to be cleaned up in contracts, and we need to find the time.”
Hamilton and Mercedes are seemingly in no rush to make any announcement, with the 38-year-old having recently admitted that the new contract might not get confirmed until the “end of the year”.
“It might get announced at the end of the year, I don’t know,” said Hamilton. “Keep(ing) you waiting.
“Honestly, I just don’t have any more information to share. It’s with the lawyers continuously, back and forth, small things.”
Speculation over Hamilton’s future will continue to go on until the contract is signed by the British driver, who has been linked to Ferrari several times.
None of the rumours have bothered Wolff though, who knows that Hamilton is incredibly “loyal” to Mercedes having been with the manufacturer since he was eight.
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“He’s been a Mercedes driver since the beginning, when he was eight, 10 years old, and then his years with McLaren within the Mercedes family, and now his 10 years in the Mercedes works team,” said Wolff.
“He’s synonymous with Mercedes, and we’ve gone through so many ups and downs, so many situations that were difficult, on a human side, on a professional side, and so many more hugely positive moments.
“I think that just made us stick together, trust each other, whilst being able to have tough love, and the odd argument, and I think there is such a strong bond that makes him so loyal, and us, too.”