Mercedes struggles with high consumption

Formula 1 team Mercedes has faced difficulties in renewing the contract with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The current agreement expires at the end of the current season. Earlier it was reported that the parties may announce a new contract already in the course of the British Grand Prix scheduled for July 9. However, according to the Daily Mail, the team management and the rider do not agree on the financial terms of the continuation of cooperation. Moreover, the gap in positions is monstrous, hundreds of millions of pounds.

The future of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes team is again in question. The Brit’s contract with the Silver Arrows expires at the end of the current season, and there is still no new agreement. It should be noted that back in January, Mercedes boss Toto Wolf argued that there would be no problems with the new contract, noting that it was only necessary to settle the formalities. In mid-June, he also reported that all issues could be settled within a few days, expressing the hope that the end of history would be put no later than the Canadian Grand Prix. The Canadian stage, however, has already passed (June 18), and the contract has not been signed.

The reason for the delay, according to the Daily Mail, citing informed sources, is that the parties are very far from agreeing on the terms of the agreement, including the main aspect – money. At the moment, Hamilton’s salary at Mercedes is £27.5 million a year. Plus, he is owed a bonus of £15 million for winning the championship. It can only happen under fantastic circumstances, given how much faster than everyone else is the leader of Red Bull Max Verstappen (he won six of the eight races held, his lead over the closest pursuer reached 69 points, and the Dutchman is 93 points ahead of the fourth Hamilton). Hamilton would like to get rid of this bonus part and put it into the guaranteed amount of payments, thus bringing them up to £42.5m, which is almost equal to Verstappen’s salary (£43m). Plus, he would like to get a contract immediately for five years. That is, to race at least until the age of 43. In addition, Hamilton would like to become a brand ambassador for Mercedes for ten years and receive £ 20 million a year for this. That is, the total requests of the British are £412.5 million.

In Mercedes, according to Daily Mail sources, they are not ready for such expenses. It is assumed that the team does not mind requests for the annual salary of the racer, but is not ready to commit itself to another five years, insisting on signing a one-year contract with the possibility of extending it for another season. As you can see, the positions of the parties differ greatly, and the team expects that Hamilton will still be more modest in requests. Earlier, Toto Wolf made it clear that Mercedes was no longer ready to pay the same amount further. “My duty is to act in the interests of the team, although I wish the best for Lewis,” he said.

It is difficult to say where the negotiations between Hamilton and Mercedes will lead, but it is worth noting that the Briton probably has another option to continue his career. At the end of May, the British media reported that Ferrari was showing interest in the Briton and that the head of the Ferrari concern (the latter owns the team of the same name) John Elkann personally takes part in the negotiations. Neither the Scuderia nor the driver confirmed the information, but no one expected this from them.

Alexander Petrov