Sir Lewis Hamilton has been on the verge of running out of his contract with Mercedes. The current contract will expire after the end of the ongoing season. It has been a discussion for a long time around the F1 grid and the media. Fans have been praying for a confirmation about a contract extension throughout the whole season. After all, the partnership between Hamilton and Mercedes has been the most successful in F1 history. What can he do to get back to winning ways? The seven-time champion has been winless since Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
It is because Mercedes failed to provide a fast and worthy title-winning car. So the question that arises is if he should change teams. For instance, Ferrari showed interest in signing the superstar of the sport. However, Lewis Hamilton mentioned that as long as his relationship with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is tight, he will stay with Mercedes. Even Wolff echoed that the contract extension has been taken care of emotionally. They only need to confirm it formally and officially. On the other hand, like Hamilton, there are six more F1 drivers whose contract expires soon enough. They are as follows:-
Other Than Lewis Hamilton, There’s Daniel Ricciardo
He was part of Red Bull for a while this season. Later he joined Alpha Tauri during the Hungarian Grand Prix. He replaced Nyck De Vries after only 10 races of the season. His performance this season might determine if he gets a promotion to Red Bull as their second driver or stays with Alpha Tauri. There’s also Yuki Tsunoda, who is part of the Alpha Tauri team and has done well this year. He is at the end of his extension. If he competes well against his new teammate, he might stay longer with Alpha Tauri. The Chinese driver, Zhou Guanyu, can also be a good marketing tool for next year when the Chinese Grand Prix returns. But the driver will feel pressure since Sauber will become Audi.
Then, there’s Williams driver Logan Sargeant, who is also good for marketing. But his teammate performed better than him this season so far. He has not scored a point yet. But Williams has supported him all the way through so far. Moreover, the Haas Boys, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, can find themselves at the end of their current contracts. Nico’s contract might expire in 2024, but the team has an option on their end. However, Kevin lost to his teammate. But the Haas car has been really bad. Hence, they should keep the two drivers for the purpose of stability. However, anything can happen.
Can Lewis Hamilton Win His Eighth Title With A Mercedes Car?
Lewis Hamilton joined the Silver Arrows in 2013. He came to Mercedes after a successful tenure with McLaren. He won his first Driver’s championship with McLaren back in 2008. It was incredible because he was a rookie just one season ago, in 2007. However, Niki Lauda, F1 great, brought Lewis Hamilton to Mercedes in 2013. Since then, things have gone upside down in the F1 grid. In the turbo-hybrid era, from 2014 to 2021, no other team was able to beat Mercedes. Moreover, in that period, Lewis Hamilton won six more titles to equal the great Michael Schumacher.
He came very close to surpassing the great German, but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen did not let Hamilton win the title in 2021. Since then, the great British Driver has been waiting to get to the coveted eighth championship. But Max Verstappen has been dominating the grid-like nobody has done before. In his dominant era, Lewis Hamilton won 11 GPs as, the most number of races in a single season. But Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher had the previous record of winning 13 races in a single season. However, the young Dutchman broke everybody’s most wins in a season record with 15 Grand Prix victories last year. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton is 38 and at the twilight of his career.