F1 INSIDER
Hamilton signs one-year deal; F1’s engine freeze confirmed
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton only agreed terms for another season at Mercedes within weeks of beginning his title defence – and both parties have a vested interest in this state of affairs not happening again. Team boss Toto Wolff has confirmed that Hamilton – whose one-year extension takes him to the end of 2021 – will get back around the negotiating table well before the end of this season.
In previous years both Wolff and Hamilton have been relatively happy to leave contract negotiations until after the outcome of the world championship is settled. This time, though, the process was complicated by the late finish to the 2020 season and both Hamilton and Wolff contracting COVID-19 in December and January. They say, too, that social distancing protocols precluded them from ‘getting around the table’ – but this didn’t stop the likes of Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel arranging transfers elsewhere.
“We have agreed we want to pick up the discussions much earlier this year,” said Wolff, “to avoid a situation like we had in 2020, to run out of time and be in the uncomfortable position that there is no time left before the beginning of the season.
“And that’s also why we only did a one-year contract. In order to allow us to discuss the future in racing and outside of racing longer. And with the right amount of time. What we’ve decided is to discuss things much earlier this year, not at the end of the season.”
Hamilton’s deal with Mercedes also includes a mutual commitment to found a charitable foundation to promote the uptake of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects within ethnic minority groups. While this suggests the relationship between Hamilton and the team with which he has won six of his seven world titles remains strong, the short duration of his contract has prompted doubts to develop over his desire to carry on competing. But the world champion has dismissed this.
“I’m fully invested in this season and delivering,” Hamilton said. “I still love what I do.
“I’m in the fortunate position where I don’t have to commit to multiple years. I chose to have a one-year deal so I could see how the year goes, see where we are at midyear or towards the end of the year. But it doesn’t mean I’m not committed. I’m still very committed to the sport.”
And yet there have been signs of discombobulation within the Hamilton camp. In February he split with
“I’M IN THE FORTUNATE POSITION WHERE I DON’T HAVE TO COMMIT TO MULTIPLE YEARS. I CHOSE TO HAVE A ONEYEAR DEAL SO I COULD SEE HOW THE YEAR GOES” LEWIS HAMILTON
long-time confidant and business associate Marc Hynes, who was CEO of Hamilton’s Project 44 management company as well as his right-hand man at race weekends. Hynes was also due to run Hamilton’s Extreme E off-road racing team.
After filming for a series of pre-season features for Sky Sports F1, co-commentator Martin Brundle described Hamilton’s demeanour as “grumpy”, and inferred from this that Hamilton “possibly wasn’t superhappy with the way negotiations have worked out at Mercedes”.
What this means for the coming months is that the annual ‘silly season’ of speculation over the driver merry-go-round will begin very early. All eyes will be on Hamilton’s on-track performance and off-track conduct. But in the event he decides not to continue beyond 2021, who might replace him?
Wolff insists that Lewis’s financial demands were “not the sticking point”, and that when the next contract discussions begin “our first discussions are going to be with Valtteri [Bottas] and Lewis”. Nevertheless, Mercedes has other drivers in its pool, of which George Russell is the most immediately available and qualified; Esteban Ocon could be extracted from his Alpine placement given time, but it’s understood his stock has slipped slightly. And speculation that Mercedes may make a play for Max Verstappen persists, though Wolff has understandably batted that away.
“Max is certainly an outstanding young driver who will be on everybody’s radar in the future,” said Wolff. “But as I said before, we’re not flirting outside before we have a clear understanding with our two drivers.”
That leaves Russell in pole position to slide into any vacancies which arise at Mercedes. And it means Wolff – who recently committed to another three years as team principal, CEO and co-shareholder – holds the majority of the cards when negotiations begin.