LEWIS HERE FOR LIFE

Wolff believes Brit will stay till finish

® from JAMES MURRAY in Monte Carlo

LEWIS HAMILTON’S boss Toto Wolff believes the three-time world champion will end his Formula One career with Mercedes.

Hamilton, 32, heads into tomorrow’s Monaco GP six points adrift of title race leader Sebastian Vettel.

The Brit is in his fifth campaign with Mercedes – winning 34 races and two drivers’ titles with them.

And Wolff hopes Hamilton, who is in the second season of a three-year deal, will see out his time in F1 with the Silver Arrows.

“If you had asked me the same question one year ago, I would not have been very optimistic, but now it is different,” said Wolff (inset).

“I have the feeling that it can’t be much better in a different place – for him or for us.

“This feeling is very strong now. I am not speaking only about on-track performance, because there are going to be difficult moments, but I am speaking about the relationship.

Strong

“After five years, this relationship has become so strong in a way that it wasn’t last season.

“For Lewis it will be important to see if we are competitive, but at the moment there is such a solid basis that I can imagine it going on forever.”

Hamilton’s feud with former team-mate Nico Rosberg threatened to damage the team.

Wolff feels Rosberg’s retirement after winning last season’s title, coupled with the arrival of Valtteri Bottas, has changed Hamilton.

“Definitely the biggest positive development I have seen between 2013 and now happened over the winter and after Nico left the team,” Wolff said.

Rosberg’s exit forced Mercedes to hire Bottas, 27, from Williams on a one-year deal – amid talk that Vettel could then join up in 2018.

Wolff added: ‘‘Taking Sebastian out of the equation at this stage would be silly, but equally it is not on the table right now.”