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After winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton said there is “no guarantee” he will remain on the grid in 2021.
Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of 2020, as does Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff’s. After winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Hamilton was asked what the Austrian’s departure would mean for Mercedes.
“I don’t even know if I’m going to be here next year, so it’s not really a concern for me at the moment,” said the six-time champion.
“We have a lot of deep conversations, Toto and I, so I’m very aware of where he is mentally, and we share a lot of and carry a lot of the weight together I think.
“I’ve been here a long, long time. I can definitely understand wanting to pull back a little bit and giving more time to family and those sort of things.”
A new deal between Hamilton and Mercedes was considered to be a formality, but now the Briton says the extension is not a sure thing.
“Well we’re in November, and I’m still, it’s crazy that we’re… Christmas isn’t that far away. Naturally, I feel great, I feel still very strong, I feel I can keep going for plenty of months.
“But you mentioned about Toto and shelf life. There’s multiple things that stay on the top of my mind.
“I would like to be here next year, but there’s no guarantee of that for sure. There’s a lot that excites me of the outer life, so time will tell,” concluded Hamilton.
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After Lewis made these comments Toto Wolff was asked about them.
“I guess if he were to decide to step out of Formula 1, which I don’t think is going to happen and I hope is not going to happen, I think we are going to have a pretty frantic driver market out there,” said the Austrian.
“But I think it’s the moment and the emotions, we are all happy but very tired also. It’s the same for me.
“I think we [Wolff and Hamilton] go together in a way that we have a symbiosis and it is important where our heart is and our mindset for next year.
“But I’ve said this is my team. I am very proud co-owner with Mercedes and I am not going to go anywhere. My role may change in the future and it is something that he has asked and I think nothing is ever secure.
“Like Niki Lauda in the 1970s he could wake up one morning at the track and just say that he is not having fun anymore. I think that can happen to anybody.
“But we want to continue this journey and we are not finished. Lewis and I and the whole team know that we are not finished.
“With me and Mercedes and I it is pretty much clear. It is just down to putting pen on paper at the right moment.
“I was also concentrating on bringing these championships home and it was not right to spend days with lawyers when I am so focused on what is happening on track.
“This is where Lewis and I are very similar. It just didn’t feel right to sit down before those championships are done.
“There will be a moment when the drivers’ championship is decided and we will have a few months before the first race happens in Australia,” concluded Wolff.
