© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
1996 F1 champion Damon Hill says Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract “requires a different board to sign off on it” and “can’t just be signed off by Toto”.
There has been a lot of talk about Lewis Hamilton’s new contract with Mercedes, with many asking questions on why are the negotiations are taking so long.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, and Lewis himself have already confirmed that the salary and the duration of the contract are not the issues being discussed, but that there are “other things”.
1996 Formula 1 champion Damon Hill explains what he believes is the reason for the delay.
“As I understand it, the contract won’t just be a racing contract,” Hill told The Independent.
“It will be a full Mercedes ambassadorial contract. That requires a different board to sign off on it, can’t just be signed off by Toto. There’ll be some board meetings in Germany.”
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Hill also said he doesn’t believe Lewis would jump ship to another team.
“Any driver who doesn’t know what the options are is missing an opportunity.
“But would he really go to Ferrari? From a strategic point of view, it would be a huge risk to go to Ferrari.
“Everyone would love to be in red and win, see what happened with Nigel [Mansell]. It’s a romance really but you’ve got to be cold-blooded about it.
“He’s not going to go to Red Bull either,” the Briton concluded.
