Toto Wolff reveals the reason for the delay in Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract

Toto Wolff claimed that all major terms of Lewis Hamilton's latest contract were agreed upon by July.

Toto Wolff reveals the reason for the delay in Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton has finally signed his long-awaited contract extension with Mercedes. The seven-time world champion will continue with the Silver Arrows for at least two more seasons. However, this extension took longer than expected. Now, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has revealed the reason for this months-long delay

Wolff mentioned that he and Hamilton had agreed upon the major aspects of the new contract around July. The Austrian claimed that things were slow as the sport headed into the summer break. Both Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton had said that no discussions took place during this month-long break. The Mercedes boss told Autosport, “I think Lewis and I, we were clear on the major terms in June, July. then just things were bubbling along, and then it was summer break.”

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The 51-year-old pointed out that clauses around marketing had led to the discussions with Hamilton taking longer than expected. Wolff claimed that small less relevant topics had taken up time with lawyers further working through all details. He said, “In the end, it was things about marketing, not really the big relevant topics, that took a bit of time. Sometimes with lawyers, it can take time, although ours are obviously splendid.”

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Lewis Hamilton wants an eighth world title in F1

Lewis Hamilton (Image via City A.M.)
Lewis Hamilton (Image via City A.M.)

The British driver has achieved historic success with Mercedes in F1. Hamilton has spent over a decade at the Brackley-based team. However, the 38-year-old remains hungry for a record-breaking eighth world title after losing the 2021 championship to Max Verstappen in the controversial Abu Dhabi season finale. Although, Lewis Hamilton has failed to win a race since 2021.

Mercedes fell behind Red Bull with the start of the ground-effect era in F1. However, the Silver Arrows are working extensively to get back to the front of the pack. Perhaps, Toto Wolff’s team managed to convince Lewis Hamilton that he would be able to fight for the title within the next two seasons. Although, there is still a long way to go for the team to be in such a position.

Toto Wolff has revealed the cause of the delay in Lewis Hamilton’s latest Mercedes contract. The 38-year-old had agreed on all major points in his extension a few months ago. However, it was the clauses regarding Hamilton’s marketing activities that took longer than initially anticipated. Now, Wolff and Hamilton would be focusing on the future.

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