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Lewis Hamilton says contract negotiations with Mercedes are “not a priority” right now, adding there are “many questions still to be answered”.
Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes will expire at the end of the year. A new deal has yet to be signed, but both team boss Toto Wolff and Hamilton said on numerous occasions that they had no contract talks yet.
Ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton was asked why a new deal hasn’t been signed yet, when it’s considered just a formality.
“Not particularly anything, just haven’t really spoken much about it,” said the Briton.
“[Is it] a formality, I don’t know – probably. I guess at some stage we have to sit down and have the conversation but it’s not a priority right now.
“Getting the job done for me this year personally is the priority. That’s what I’m solely focused on right now.
“Negotiations are never an easy thing for most people, having to go into an office and sit with your boss, it’s never an easy position to be in.
“I don’t particularly feel uneasy about it, I’ve done it multiple times now. It’s just when the time is right, we’ll do and get on with it.
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“At the end of the day I’ve always been committed to this team and completely transparent. I know if you don’t have communication for a while, people can start to hear whispers or have a fear…
“I could for example worry that Toto is speaking to somebody else which is silly, I don’t think that. I’m just saying that’s what humans can do.
“So, it’s always been important just to be really clear with each other about our intentions.
“I haven’t spoken to anybody else, I don’t plan to and at some stage Toto and I will sit down and work out our path moving forwards.
“We have achieved quite a lot together and it’s quite remarkable what we’ve done together over these years and we are still not done.”
The six-time champion also said he has yet to decide whether he would like to commit to a short term or a longer term deal.
“I haven’t made any decisions but I do want to stay. Normally when we sit down it’s been three-year periods.
“But of course we are in a different time. Do I want to continue for three years is also a question. There are many, many questions still to be answered.
“And we’re also going into a new era of car in 2022. So it kind of excites me what could happen in 2022 in terms of what the cars are like.
“I think if you look short-term you could say there’s going to be companies and business that are going out [of business] during this time.
“Mercedes I would say are on the climb back, I would say they’re now in a much better place, everyone’s had a big hit this year. But if you look at the future I think the future’s bright.
“I think there’s going to be some changes. Ola [Källenius, Daimler CEO] came out with a new plan that Mercedes have moving forwards in terms of sustainability, in terms of pushing their cars more towards electric, and the same with AMG, so I think the future’s bright.
“These are all things that we will naturally think about but I think I’ve earned the right or the position so far to be able to stay for a decent amount of time, so time will tell.
“I can’t really say too much more, hopefully you’ll hear something in the next couple of months,” concluded Hamilton.
