The last two Formula 1 season have been heartbreaking for Lewis Hamilton, as the Brit has been unable to win a record breaking eighth world championship.
2021 saw a controversial call from race director Michael Masi essentially hand the title to Max Verstappen as the season finale in Abu Dhabi and then Hamilton was not even able to seek vengeance in 2022.
Mercedes struggled to work out the best development path under the major regulation changes and provided their drivers with an uncompetitive W13, which also suffered from a severe porpoising issue.
The Silver Arrows’ failures saw their seven-time world champion finish the season without a win to his name, leaving him in sixth place in the championship, even behind his new teammate George Russell.
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Despite suffering so much over the past two years, the Brit confirmed towards the end of last season that he would certainly be signing a contract extension with Mercedes over the winter break, as he has become hungrier than ever for success after watching Max Verstappen dominate the sport.
The Brit confirmed his desire to extend his contract in November, however now in January, with the 2023 season getting closer and closer, nothing has been made official.
Despite fan’s worries, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed that a deal will be struck whenever Hamilton returns to Europe, having spent his 38th birthday away skiing.
“We have a full year to go, we’re so aligned,” said the Austrian.
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“In the last 10 years our relationship has grown that it’s just a matter of him physically being back in Europe, sticking our heads together, wrestling a bit and then leaving the room with white smoke after a few hours.”
Hamilton’s desire to resign with Mercedes will give fans of the Silver Arrows hope that their team can return to winning ways in 2023, while Red Bull deal with their cost cap breach punishment.
The team have made good progress over the winter break, as the Mercedes social media account revealed that they have already fired up the W14 for the first time, in preparation for their official launch in February.