Since this winter, it was the big question on everyone’s lips in the F1 paddock: when would Lewis Hamilton extend with Mercedes and for how long?<\/p>\n
A first deadline had been set in Melbourne, where no announcement was made. This only fueled the rumor mill, especially since Daniel Ricciardo was clearly showing interest in other opportunities while Red Bull seems to be increasingly focusing on Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
But ultimately, Mercedes waited for its home race in Hockenheim to announce that its four-time world champion would extend his career for two more seasons, until the end of the 2020 season. This is precisely what seems to have been the main focus of the negotiations between the two parties, as Mercedes wanted its driver to commit to five additional seasons, but Lewis Hamilton did not want to go beyond two seasons, the last season before the next major shake-up of the technical regulations. He was further assured by this deadline as it coincided with that of Sebastian Vettel’s current contract with Ferrari or Max Verstappen’s with Red Bull.<\/p>\n
The other important point of discussion was the number of days the British star had to dedicate to his employer, particularly from the perspective of commercial activations or presence at the Brackley factory. The idea was to limit them as much as possible, focusing mainly around race weekends so he could attend to his other pursuits, especially music.<\/p>\n
But Toto Wolff, the director of Mercedes, legitimately dismissed all these topics and focused on the essential, namely the extension of his star driver’s contract: We were in agreement with Lewis as soon as we sat down to discuss the details of this contract at the end of last season. Obviously, there was a lot of interest and speculation around this process. So it’s a good thing to be able to finalize and announce it.<\/p>\n
The communication from the team suggests that Valtteri Bottas’s extension may not be too far off either, as the Finnish driver is featured in one of the photos used in the press release.<\/p>\n
The logical outcome of the transfer market is that Daniel Ricciardo will eventually announce he is staying with Red Bull, despite the switch to Honda, due to a lack of compelling alternatives.<\/p>\n