“Can Mercedes Afford It?”: Toto Wolff’s Selfish Motives Questioned as Lewis Hamilton’s Contract Faces Another Obstacle

Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, Charles Leclerc to Mercedes, a swap between Leclerc and Hamilton. The transfer market rumors have been crazy this year. Nonetheless, Lewis Hamilton’s comments about staying at Mercedes put all the speculations to bed. However, no official announcement has been made by Toto Wolff and Co. yet. Lewis Hamilton’s contract faces another obstacle as Toto Wolff’s motives are being questioned. 

Lewis Hamilton’s contract situation has been stretched out like a rubber band by the Mercedes F1 Team. Toto Wolff and Co. have been suggesting for a while that Lewis Hamilton’s contract just lacks the finer details. However, it was recently revealed that Lewis Hamilton has asked for a 10-year contract. This includes 2 years as a racing driver while remaining as an ambassador for the team.

Hamilton isn’t only thinking about his racing career but also his post-racing career. However, this demand of Hamilton is said to be the disagreement point between the team and driver that’s stopping the contract from going through. Ralf Schumacher suggests it’s a cost issue. Mercedes, Ineos, and Toto Wolff each own about a third of Mercedes F1’s stake. This means Hamilton’s salary will affect Toto Wolff indirectly as it will be paid by the team. 

According to Motorsport-Total.com, Ralf Schumacher said, “Accordingly, I believe that he is looking for long-term cooperation with Mercedes after his active career. And I think that’s exactly the sticking point. Because Mercedes is of course only one-third of the owner of the team. This is also a cost issue, and I think it’s taking a bit long at the moment. Does Mercedes want and can afford it?” [Translated via Google]

Read More: Unwilling to Lose $11,000,000, Toto Wolff Dismisses Lewis Hamilton’s Wishes to Set Clear Goal for Mercedes

The Ambassador part of Lewis Hamilton’s contract will only benefit Mercedes from a Marketing point of view while Toto Wolff will be responsible for a part of this salary. It’s hard to understand how it will benefit Toto Wolff and the same question might be going on inside the Mercedes CEO’s mind. Toto Wolff’s comments about Hamilton’s contract last weekend confused Hamilton’s former nemesis.

Nico Rosberg questions Toto Wolff’s comments about Lewis Hamilton’s contract situation.

During the Hungarian GP weekend, Toto Wolff suggested that only Hamilton’s signature is what’s missing from the contract. Wolff said, “The status is we haven’t signed it but emotionally we have done it.” Hamilton’s former Nemesis, Nico Rosberg, questioned what Toto Wolff meant by emotionally done as he wished for Hamilton to continue in the sport.

According to Express.co.uk, Nico Rosberg said, “Can someone tell me what that means when a contract is emotionally done? I have no idea where they are at, or why Lewis is taking so much time. All of us hope that he will continue of course, and it really seems to be the case.”

Watch this Story: How 10-year-old friendship between Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff is coming in the way of $35 million worth contract renewal

What do you think? Is Hamilton’s contract really on the brink of being signed?