© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
According to rumours Lewis Hamilton is expected to sign a new deal with Mercedes “in days”, while INEOS CEO Jim Ratcliffe is set to buy into the team.
These rumours are reported by the Sun newspaper, not the most reputable of sources, but they have been known to break legitimate news.
This comes after Mercedes heavily teased a Lewis Hamilton contact signing announcement coming soon. According to the Sun Hamilton would sign a new deal with Mercedes for £40 million a year, however there is no word on how long the deal would last. The deal would have to be honoured even if Formula 1 introduces the planned $30m driver salary cap in 2023.
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Additionally, although the report states British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe would buy into the team, it doesn’t say how big of a stake he would have. It would be reasonable to think that Ratcliffe would buy Niki Lauda’s 10% stake in the team, making him joint owner with Toto Wolff (30%) and Daimler AG (60%).
It was heavily rumoured earlier in the year that Ratcliffe and British chemicals company INEOS were interested in buying into the team. INEOS became Mercedes’ “long-term principal partner” at the beginning of 2020.
