Lewis Hamilton targeting $270 million Mercedes-Benz ‘brand ambassador’ post-career deal – Reports

Lewis Hamilton targeting $270 million Mercedes-Benz ‘brand ambassador’ post-career deal – Reports

Lewis Hamilton

There has been much talk about Lewis Hamilton’s (potential) new contract at Mercedes. Last year, the Briton had said ahead of the 2022 Mexican GP that he was planning to do a ‘multi-year’ deal with his current team. Later on, Toto Wolff stated that Hamilton’s contract is ‘one of the topics to tackle over the winter, but emphasized that there is no ‘firm deadline’.

It seems that both parties want to continue together, so the renewal seems more a question of when than if. Well, it will be this year – that much is obvious, considering Hamilton’s current deal expires at the end of the season. The Briton first joined the team in 2013 and has spent just about a decade with the Silver Arrows. All the signs point to him staying for a few more years.

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So while all signs point to renewal, the details of the said renewal have been a little hard to come by until now. The current contract nets Hamilton an annual salary of about €45 million (~$48.7 million) at current exchange rates. Moreover, a world championship win [in 2023] will yield him a bonus of around €25 million (~$27 million). However, as per the French website ‘Sportune‘ for the next contract, which would also be a two-year deal, Hamilton’s initial offer was €140 million over two years. Without bonuses. However, it may be that this contract will have a similar value to Hamilton’s previous one – 45 million base, 25 million bonuses.

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Lewis Hamilton targeting brand ambassador role at Mercedes-Benz after F1

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton

Somehow, it’s not the supposedly almost $49 million salary that stands out the most in the contract report, but rather, it’s what comes after Lewis Hamilton’s time in Formula 1. The Briton is one of the greatest and most successful F1 drivers of all time. In addition to that, he is very personable and dignified in public, and he has a very large fanbase, especially in his native country.

He supports a variety of charitable causes and is well known for his outspoken activism. Moreover, he is clearly the most iconic Mercedes F1 driver of all time, and Toto Wolff aims to keep him around. As per the report by Sportune, for this, Hamilton is seeking a 10-year brand ambassador deal with Mercedes-Benz, netting him around €25 million a year. That totals to around €250 million (~$270 million) for the whole period.

In addition to that, some finances from the contract will also be used to finance Mission 44, Hamilton’s charitable foundation. These finances may range up as high as €15 million (~$16.2 million). All of these deals combined will take the total worth of the contract to over €400 million (~$432 million). Quite a sizeable sum and the deal could see Hamilton continue as Formula 1’s highest-paid driver.

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