MERCEDES CONTRACT : HAMILTON HAS DOUBTS ABOUT THE FUTURE

Lewis Hamilton is in no hurry to sign a new contract.

Still without a new Mercedes contract in hand, Lewis Hamilton admits one of the issues is whether he wants to stick around for another three years.

Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013, taking 70 wins with the Brackley team to move his tally up 91.

Added to that he’s also won five World titles with team and is on the cusp of number six, which would put him equal with Michael Schumacher on seven Drivers’ Championship titles.

It was thought that re-signing with the team would be a mere formality, however, months after the 2020 got off to a delayed start, Hamilton has yet to put pen to paper.

His first two deals with Mercedes were three year contacts before he signed a two-year extension for 2019 and 2020.

He’s currently considering what length of contract he wants next.

“I haven’t made any decisions but I do want to stay,” he said ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

“When we do sit down, normally we plan in three-year periods, but of course, we’re in a different time.

“Do I want to continue for three years?ADVERTISEMENTPUBLICITÉ

“That’s also a question; there are many, many questions still to be answered.

“We’re also going into a new era of car in 2022. So it kind of excites me, what could happen in 2022, in terms of what the cars are like.”

There have been rumours that Hamilton was waiting to see how things would turn out for Mercedes and parent company Daimler given the huge financial hit that many car companies have taken this season.

Mercedes, however, committed its future to Formula 1 back in August when it signed the new Concorde Agreement.

Hamilton added: “I think if you look short-term you could say there’s going to be companies and business that are going out [of business] during this time.

“Mercedes I would say are on the climb back, I would say they’re now in a much better place, everyone’s had a big hit this year. But if you look at the future I think the future’s bright.

“I think there’s going to be some changes. Ola [Källenius, Daimler CEO] came out with a new plan that Mercedes have moving forwards in terms of sustainability, in terms of pushing their cars more towards electric, and the same with AMG, so I think the future’s bright.

“These are all things that we will naturally think about but I think I’ve earned the right or the position so far to be able to stay for a decent amount of time, so time will tell.

“I can’t really say too much more, hopefully you’ll hear something in the next couple of months.”

Asked if there was any one sticking issue to his negotiations, he replied: “Not particularly anything, just haven’t really spoken much about it.

MERCEDES CONTRACT : HAMILTON HAS DOUBTS ABOUT THE FUTURE MERCEDES CONTRACT : HAMILTON HAS DOUBTS ABOUT THE FUTURE

PEREZ : I’M NOT GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT MY CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE F1 NEWS VIA Facebook AND Twitter