Mercedes boss Toto Wolff once again dismissed all the rumours about Lewis Hamilton leaving for Ferrari as he provided a fresh update on the 38-year-old’s future at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Wolff admitted that Hamilton’s future with Mercedes is far from over as the contract renewal is just around the corner.
There have been many speculations about the Brit’s future after a continuous delay in the contract extension but the Mercedes boss said that the reason behind the delay is that both parties need more time to conclude the final terms.
“No, we’re not talking about an ambassadorial role post his retirement, nor is that part of the contract negotiations. I think he has many years to go as a driver within this team and, therefore, it’s only about cleaning things up in the contract.
“I know it looks a little bit like ‘Why is this not being done and dusted?’ But it’s simply down to trivial things that just need to be cleaned up in contracts and we need the time.”
Hamilton, on July 22, also hinted at a possible contract extension that may not be signed till the end of the year.
“Now until the end of the year [we] could be waiting,” he told media including RaceFans at the Hungaroring. “Honestly, I just don’t have any more information to share because it’s for the lawyers and continues to be for the lawyers – it’s back-and-forth on some things.”
“I’ve not been a part of it the whole time, I’ve been removed from it from the beginning,” he added. “I’ve wanted to be able to focus on all the other things that I have going on. So, the team are working on it in the background and there’s no negotiation left, it’s just all small bits.”
It must be noted that the 38-year-old joined Marcedes in 2013 from McLaren and went on to win six world titles with the brand cementing his name as one of the best Formula 1's drivers. His last title win was in 2020 while his Marcedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was the runner-up.