Lewis Hamilton calls the new Mercedes contract negotiations an ‘emotional rollercoaster’

Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013 and his current contract will expire at the end of the year.

Lewis Hamilton calls the new Mercedes contract negotiations an ‘emotional rollercoaster’

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (Via IMAGO)

Seven times F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton’s run with Mercedes has been a historic one. The Briton has won six out of his seven WDC titles with the team. Hamilton’s current deal with Mercedes ends at the end of the 2023 season, and talks for renewal have been going on for some time now, with both sides wanting to continue with each other.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has reaffirmed on several occasions that they will sign an extension with Hamilton, but they still haven’t been able to close the deal yet. Hamilton recently discussed the ongoing situation, saying he wishes to stay with Mercedes. He said that Wolff has both business and personal views on the matter, which makes this saga an ‘emotional rollercoaster’ for both sides.

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“I think it’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster on both sides, because he’s a business man, but he also has his personal side. I’m going in depth with my contracts. But I plan to be here. I have a lot of work to do with this team,” Hamilton told RTBF.

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Lewis Hamilton opens up on Max Verstappen’s dominance

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (Credits: PlanetF1)

Lewis Hamilton’s and Max Verstappen’s 2021 rivalry was a historic one, with both of them at their best. But, after the 2022 upgrades, Mercedes fell off drastically while Verstappen started a new era of dominance. Hamilton recently talked about Verstappen’s dominance and how it is similar to his glory years of Mercedes.

Hamilton said that while the aim is to be where Verstappen is, he enjoys racing more now than in his dominant years. He said that it gets lonely at the top, and the thrill of winning races from the back or fighting to hold a position, are some of the best things for the drivers.

Of course, it’s exciting to win races, but ultimately you want to have more competition because that sometimes feels empty when you’re really far ahead. When you’ve had races where you’ve come back from a little further back, or when you’re fighting to hold on to first or second place, that’s what we live for. I would say that I enjoy racing more now than I did then,” said Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton heads into the break with 148 points. He is behind Verstappen by a massive 166 points. As Mercedes keep rolling in their upgrades, it remains to be seen whether a repeat of the iconic 2021 contention between the two could repeat sometime in the future.

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