‘I am super relaxed’
Hamilton in no rush to sign new Merc deal
LEWIS HAMILTON is “super relaxed” amid ongoing contract negotiations with Mercedes, and the four-time world champion hinted it could be his last deal as a Formula One driver.
Hamilton is entering the final season of his three-year contract, but talks are underway about a new deal with Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff.
The British driver had said last month that he hoped to get it done before the new season gets underway, but he acknowledged that it’s now unlikely to happen before the first race in Melbourne on March 25.
“We started talking about it over the winter, and I was like, ‘I’ll come back to it’, and then we picked it up again, and I was like ‘I’ll come back to it’. It’s not really my priority at the moment,” Hamilton said.
“I’m really super relaxed, I don’t feel pressure from the team, I don’t feel pressure within myself. I want to continue racing, so I’ll have to do a contract at some stage, but I’m definitely not going to do it when people want me to do it. I’ll do it when it’s ready.”
If he does sign a new deal with Mercedes, it’s expected to be for another three-year span. But while he feels he could stay at the top of his game for seven more years, the 33-year-old is not sure he’ll stay that long in the sport.
“I don’t want to stop early. I don’t want to stop premature, that’s for sure, but I really don’t know what my time is,” Hamilton said. “I could probably stay until I’m 40 if I wanted to, but I don’t think I’m going to do that.
“I could stay one or two more years, but in two years’ time, will I still have the excitement that I have now of going into another season? I really can’t tell you.”