Sir Lewis Hamilton has been waiting to get back to winning ways for a long time now. The last time he won a Grand Prix was back in Saudi Arabia in the year 2021. However, things changed drastically from the final race of 2021 in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton lost his grip on the Driver’s World Championship since then. Especially after losing narrowly to the new double-time champion, Max Verstappen. Since then, Max has looked unbeatable in the race for winning the world championship. He has won 37 races in the next two and a half years, while his team, Red Bull, has won 24 races of the last 25 Grands Prix.
On the other hand, since that time, Lewis Hamilton remained winless. Mercedes managed to win their solitary race since last year in the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. And in this challenging situation, Mercedes and Hamilton had to deal with their contract extension as their previous contract was about to expire after this season. Hence, speculations were rising about what is taking so much time for the German team to confirm an extension. However, both Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff sounded confident about staying together with Mercedes for a longer time. After a long wait, the German team recently confirmed a two-year extension with their star driver, Lewis Hamilton. Hence, the seven-time champion will be part of Mercedes for at least 2025. But Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, recently mentioned that the marketing aspects were the main reason for the delay of the inevitable.
Mercedes Boss Believes Certain Marketing Aspects Delayed The Contract Extension Of Lewis Hamilton
Recently, in an interview, Principal Toto Wolff revealed that both he and Lewis Hamilton knew they would have an extension already in June or July. But one thing led to another as the final confirmation was bubbling along. And then, the F1 teams reached the summer break. Apparently, it was not any big argument or something that was taking so much time. Instead, it was some marketing issue, nothing much relevant issues, that made them wait. Wolff also mentioned that the lawyers could be the reason for the delay. However, he believes Mercedes has got splendid lawyers.
Not many can deny the fact that Lewis Hamilton is still the center of attention in F1 despite the winless streak. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali also loves the commitment of Lewis Hamilton for the motorsport. The CEO knows that it is good for the sport as long as he hangs around because Hamilton has such a diverse fan base. The seven-time champion helped the sport reach a whole other level. Domenicali knows that Hamilton helped F1 connect with different spheres of the world. He believes Hamilton has one objective at present, and that’s his eighth championship. Hence, he must stay with a team that he has a lot of confidence in.
Nico Rosberg Believes The Contract Extension Came As A Big Relief For Mercedes, Especially For Toto Wolff
Former Mercedes champion Nico Rosberg believes the confirmation of the extension must come as a big relief for Toto Wolff. If Lewis Hamilton had retired after two back-to-back failure seasons, then it would have caused a lot of confusion in the Mercedes camp. Moreover, Nico Rosberg told Sky Sports that there was a lack of stability and certainty as long as Lewis Hamilton signed an extension.
Adding to that, the 2016 champion mentioned if Lewis suddenly decided to go surfing at the beach, Toto Wolff would have been incredibly stressed. However, Rosberg believes Wolff won’t show any stress because he is an incredibly good and cold negotiator. But inside, he would have had a lot of stress.