Lewis Hamilton has claimed Sebastian Vettel's new three-year contract at Ferrari has made his future Formula 1 career plan "easier", with a new Mercedes deal seemingly a formality.

The idea of the Briton one day driving for the Scuderia, though unlikely, had never been completely ruled out, as he had admitted it was one of his aspirations. With speculation then linking Vettel to Mercedes, the thought of a potential swap also didn't seem so outlandish.

But all that has now ended following the German's new deal with Hamilton saying on Thursday, he is simply watching the driver market unfold.

"I'm made aware of who contacts the team (Mercedes) and that's down to a great relationship that I have with (motorsport boss) Toto [Wolff]," he revealed ahead of the Italian GP.

"So he's very open with me about who calls. It's kind of interesting sometimes to hear who calls, and who's tried either to take my seat or take the seat next door to me.

"And then to see following those calls, the manoeuvres that happen, such as for example Sebastian signing. I don't know if everyone expected him to sign a three-year deal.”

Following the Vettel story, speculation has suggested Hamilton and Mercedes will respond with their own new three-year contract. Though he did not comment on length, the triple world champion did seem to confirm he would be staying beyond his current contract that ends at the end of 2018. 

"It doesn't really change much to me because I planned to extend with the team, which we will do at some point in the second half of the season or towards the end of the year,” he said.

"I know Toto has said that we'll wait until the end of the season because generally, that's what I like to do, there's no rush. I still have another year, so we have a lot of time. I think the last contract went all the way into the mid-part of the season.

“I know the team is fully committed to me," he added, "and I've never picked up the phone and spoken to any of those other teams. So I made that very clear to the guys.

"I'm not trying to weigh up my options, and if I was I'd call Toto and say I'm going to due diligence and see what options there are for me. Currently, I have no plans to do that.

"It's good for Sebastian that he's signed there [at Ferrari]. I think all things happen for a reason and in the kind of plan that I have coming up, my five years, whatever it is, six years that I have left in the sport, that piece of the puzzle is now in place, so it makes my decision moving forward a lot easier."