Sir Lewis Hamilton has been part of the Mercedes F1 team for ten years now. He started his F1 career with McLaren and won his first driver’s world championship in 2008. Then he had to wait for a while to win his second title, as McLaren was unable to beat Red Bull. From 2010 to 2013, the Austrian team won several championships with Sebastian Vettel steering the wheel. Hence, Hamilton felt the need to change teams to compete with Vettel, who won four titles in a row.
Later, F1 great Niki Lauda persuaded Hamilton to join Mercedes, and he moved from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013. Also, the team principal of the Silver Arrows, Toto Wolff, joined the team the same year. Hence, the legendary partnership began between a team and the driver. Wolff is the most successful F1 team principal up to this day, as the legend of Lewis Hamilton has broken barriers after he joined the Brackley team. Now also, after ten years, the seven-time champion wants to stay with Mercedes for as long as he can. Hamilton has also hinted at staying with the team for the next season as well. However, his contract with Mercedes ends after the 2023 season.
Lewis Hamilton Reveals Mega News On Contract Extension With Mercedes
With the new upgrades, Mercedes secured their first double podium finish of the season at the Spanish GP. Max Verstappen won the race, but Lewis Hamilton had his second P2 finish this season, while George Russell had his first podium finish ending at P3. Hence this good result for Mercedes surely boosted the confidence back in the camp. Further, Hamilton sounded optimistic about talking to Toto Wolff about his contract today. In the press conference after the race, he mentioned, “I’ve not signed anything yet, but everybody can see that my performance was not affected by that at all.” He added that it would be better if these negotiations got sorted as soon as possible. Then everybody can focus more on the present as well as the future.
Adding to that, the Mercedes driver praised his team’s dedication. He revealed that they (the team) celebrated for two minutes and start focusing on how to get the car better right away. Even Mercedes boss Toto Wolff mentioned previously, “It only takes half an hour to sit for a coffee and extend the contract of my best friend. But it feels a bit awkward to talk about negotiations and money with such a close friend like Lewis.” On the other hand, Hamilton, at several platforms, has mentioned that he is really happy with the team on and off the track. Naomi Schiff of Sky Sports also feels that Hamilton is not going anywhere for a while. Hence, there is no need to panic as they will sign a contract soon.
Can Mercedes Get Back Their Glory Days In F1?
The seven-time champion has made it clear that he is trying his best to win races and is happy to see the hunger for success within the team. From 2014 to 2020, he won six more driver’s world championships equalling the great Michael Schumacher. But at present, Lewis Hamilton has not won a single race since the Saudia Arabian Grand Prix in 2021. Apparently, the year 2021 saw the rise of Red Bull yet again, but this time with the Dutch Max Verstappen. Since then, it has been only him who is winning titles. It seems like there is no other driver on the grid as the Mercedes star has been waiting to drive a good car that gets him to the coveted eighth title.
However, under the cost cap regulations, the Brackley team has struggled a lot with their car. But in 2023, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Mercedes planned to test new upgrades. But unfortunately, the race did not happen because of a terrible flood in Imola. It was disappointing, but the Brackley team implemented the modifications in Monaco. Even though he finished at P4, more or less, Lewis Hamilton felt good driving the car with new upgrades. But yesterday at the Spanish Grand Prix, something the German team desperately wanted actually happened.