Hamilton drives hard bargain

LEWIS HAMILTON’S “grotesque” wage demands are the reason he has yet to agree a new deal with Mercedes, according to Red Bull’s Christian Horner.

Hamilton is playing hardball with Mercedes, insisting he is in “no rush” to extend his current contract, which expires at the end of the season.

And although Mercedes bosses Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda remain confi dent of hanging on to Hamilton, Red Bull team principal Horner claims doing so could require an improvement on the staggering £ 40million- aseason deal currently on offer.

“I can only imagine that a delay can only involve money,” said Horner ahead of Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix. “And I should think it’s such a grotesque amount of money that Toto’s talking about, it probably is what’s making his and Niki’s eyes water at the moment.

“He’s got an expensive lifestyle. He’s a four- time world champion and I doubt he’s cheap.”

Wolff is fearful of forcing the pace given both Ferrari and Red Bull could be in the market for a new driver. “We see no hurry to pressurise each other into signing a document that will eventually happen anyway,” said Wolff. “There is no desire for him to leave the team and we have no desire for us to lose him.”

Red Bull ’ s Daniel Ricciardo was fastest in yesterday’s afternoon practice session, edging out team- mate Max Verstappen, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel third and Hamilton fourth.