Hamilton in pole position to lift pay
The 2008 world champion has won five races so far this season and could be about to seal a new contract worth more than $100m.
LEWIS HAMILTON is expecting a fresh contract from Mercedes this year – even though his current deal has 18 months left to run.
‘‘I’m sure something will happen this year,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve made it clear to them that I’m not out to see what else there is for me. Mercedes has been my family since I started F1 and I don’t see that changing any time soon.’’
The Mercedes motorsport director, Toto Wolff, has already confirmed he is having talks with Hamilton’s representatives.
He told the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung: ‘‘We are already sitting together and negotiating with Lewis about a multi-year contract. Lewis is a fixed part of the team, and I would hope for a long time to come.’’
A new three-year deal could earn Hamilton up to NZ$140 million over its duration. The 2008 world champion is in the middle of a successful season with Mercedes, with five race wins already, even though he trails his German team-mate, Nico Rosberg, by 14 points after failing to finish on two occasions.
‘‘I’ve made no secret to both [technical director] Paddy [Lowe] and Toto – we have a very good open relationship – and I’ve said to them that they would be the first to know if I was looking to speak to anyone else, but I’ve said there wouldn’t be because I want to be speaking to you,’’ Hamilton said.
‘‘We talked about having a chat at some stage but I think they’re quite relaxed as well, as far as I’m aware.
‘‘I’ve shown an interest in sitting down and talking. We haven’t sat down yet, but the team know I’d like to push to continue, and they have made clear they would like to do the same.’’
Hamilton’s relationship with Mercedes goes back to his childhood, since the German team also provides engines for his former team, McLaren.
‘‘I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13, so I very much feel I’ve Mercedes imprinted on my chest, so it’s very much a family for me,’’ he said.
‘‘You never know what’s going to happen in the future, but I can’t particularly see myself anywhere else. But, if they happen to want someone else, then I’m not going to whinge about it. There are places for everyone.’’
Hamilton also dismissed speculation that the world champion, Sebastian Vettel, might like to drive for Mercedes in the future.
‘‘Another German driver? I’m not sure if that’s something Mercedes would like but, at the moment, I’m here until the end of next year, so it’s not going to be any time soon. But Mercedes are the best, so everyone is going to want to drive at Mercedes.’’
Meanwhile, at the other end of the paddock, Britain’s junior driver Max Chilton is also looking for a new contract from Marussia, which would give him his third season in F1.
Chilton, who finished a career best 13th in the opening race of the season in Australia, repeating the performance in Bahrain two races later before finishing 16th at Hockenheim last week, said: ‘‘I naturally want to stay with the team. There are a lot of rumours with regard to the top of the grid, with people moving around, and you don’t really know where you stand.
‘‘I won’t focus on that until later on in the year, but I’m confident I’ll be here next year. I’ve had good races this year. I started off fairly strong, and OK, the last few have not been particularly great, but I feel we’ve got to the bottom of that. Overall I’ve been consistent and had good results.’’
Because of the two points scored by his team-mate, Jules Bianchi, in Monaco in May, Marussia are ninth in the constructors’ championship, ahead of both Sauber and Caterham.
‘‘That would be a big help to the team financially if we could do that as it would help us develop the car for next year,’’ said Chilton. ‘‘I’d like to think I could continue to help the team develop over the next couple of years.’’