Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes could finally be about to put months of speculation to rest, with the announcement of a new contract expected “very soon”.
The world champion has been widely expected to extend his stay with the German manufacturer, as they remain one of if not the leading team on the grid and Lewis too, has insisted he remains motivated in Formula 1.
However, the more time that has passed without confirmation, some have begun to wonder if there is a hold-up, pointing to commitments away from the track and even the basics of his salary.
“We don’t want to drag it out much longer.,” Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports on Sunday. “I expect it to be done very, very soon.”
A likely time could well be next week to coincide with Hamilton’s home race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Interestingly, Wolff then immediately suggested that it wouldn’t just be the Briton that would be confirmed.
“Valtteri [Bottas] is doing an exceptional job,” the Austrian added. “At the moment there is no reason to change the line-up.”
If that is the case, then it effectively rules out any thoughts Daniel Ricciardo had of switching to another top three after Ferrari ruled out signing the Australian last week, and instead are focusing on Charles Leclerc.
Also Read:
- Horner believes Ricciardo wants to stay with Red Bull in 2019
- Ricciardo suggest move to non-top-three team has some “appeal”
One option that does appear on the table is McLaren after Red Bull’s Helmut Marko claimed big money was being offered to likely replace Fernando Alonso and now the British team has admitted contact with the 28-year-old.
“Obviously we love Daniel, I personally have known him for many, many years. He is doing a good job with Red Bull,” racing director Eric Boullier told Reuters.
“As long as a driver of that calibre is on the market you look if there is any discussion possible. But at this time of year it’s still too early to talk about our driver line-up for the future, so just a normal, gentle discussion.”