Lewis Hamilton Signs A New Two Year Deal With Mercedes

The Mercedes Formula 1 team has this morning confirmed at its home German Grand Prix that Monaco based British racing driver Lewis Hamilton has signed a two year extension to his current contract which expires at the end of this season. This will commit Hamilton to the Brackley based team until the end of 2020.

Negotiations between the team and its multiple champion lead driver have been ongoing since last winter, but pen has now at last been put to paper by both sides and the way ahead is clear. A relaxed Hamilton commented ahead of this weekend’s race “I’m very confident that Mercedes is the right place to be over the coming years”.

Neither Mercedes nor Hamilton were understandably willing to comment on details of the financials involved, but it is understood that the new deal may be worth up to £40m a year, making him the highest paid F1 driver and the highest paid British sportsperson.

This announcement will end speculation about Ferrari potentially seeking Hamilton’s services alongside Sebastian Vettel with effect from next season and will impact on other moves in the driver market, notably that of the future of current Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo who is also out of contract at the end of 2018.

No announcement has yet been made by Mercedes about Hamilton’s team-mate for next year, but there is a very strong chance that the current incumbent, the Finn Valtteri Bottas who is on a one year deal at the moment, may well be retained.