Is Lewis Hamilton stalling in signing a new contract at Mercedes over performance concerns with the 2023 car?
At the end of last year, it seemed a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ the seven-time world champion would extend his current deal at the team, which expires at the end of this year.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff even suggested a new contract could be agreed in just a few hours over the winter break, but fast forward to the eve of the opening race of the season in Bahrain and still, nothing has been confirmed.
Speaking at the launch of the new W14 last month, the Austrian admitted: “We’ve had a first chat but I don’t want to commit to any timeline, because it’s not important for him nor for us at that stage.
“It [the contract] runs a full year, and we’re going to try to find the right time.”
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Hamilton enters 2023 on the back of the worst season of his F1 career statistically last year, after failing to win a race in a calendar year for the first time and finishing sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, his lowest-ever result.
And with this year’s Mercedes again looking off the pace of the leading Red Bull, could the 38-year-old be biding his time to see if competitiveness improves?
“It has to be that, right?” former teammate and 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button told the Telegraph.
“Why otherwise would you leave it this late? He knows how annoying we all are asking [about the contract].
“I mean, we’ve got to ask the question. But he’s going to hate answering it over and over and over and over again. It can only be because he’s wondering how competitive they [Mercedes] will be.”
And after spending last year trying to improve the W13, Button wonders if Hamilton will have the motivation to do the same with the W14.
“Is he going to sign [a contract] if the car is uncompetitive because he wants it to be quick again before he retires?” he added.
“Or is he thinking ‘If it’s not better, I’m just going to retire.’ Who knows?’”
