‘It’s All Just Show’ – Ecclestone Makes a Bold Claim in Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes F1 Contract Saga

The Lewis Hamilton contract saga continues to drag on with no end in sight. The Briton was supposed to agree to a new deal before the 2020 season even began. However, that has not happened due to a multitude of reasons, the latest being that Hamilton and Mercedes don’t see eye to eye. For the latter, Lewis’ demands seem too excessive.

During this long saga, many people who know Lewis have had a thing or two to say. Hamilton’s dad believes that the new contract is inevitable. Former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley says there are ‘major sticking points.’ Now we have F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone giving his verdict on the matter.

According to the former F1 CEO, the deal is already done! Ecclestone believes the only reason the news hasn’t been broken as yet is because of PR reasons.

He said (translated via Google), “It’s all just show, so that Lewis in particular stays in the headlines during these dreary weeks.”

It’s probably best to take Ecclestone’s remarks with a pinch of salt at this point in time. Nonetheless, it isn’t entirely right to rule out this possibility, despite it being seemingly unlikely.

Lewis Hamilton or Mercedes – Who has the edge in negotiations?

Despite Hamilton holding out for his demands, it looks as though Mercedes may have the upper hand. The reason being George Russell.

At the Sakhir GP, the Williams man showed that he is ready to step up to the plate, not to say that he can ‘replace’ a man who may well be the greatest F1 driver of all time. But considering that Mercedes have, by far, the best car on the grid, another constructors’ title may not be in much doubt this year. Plus, Russell’s contract would be far more favorable to the Silver Arrows.

Nevertheless, the German team isn’t one to neglect their incumbents at the drop of a hat, much less a man who has given them incredible success. So, they’d definitely prefer the negotiations with Hamilton to be successful.

But will it be successful? Are there any more twists and turns to come in this saga? We’ll find out the answers to these questions in the coming days.