Toto Wolff Admits Mercedes Could Cut it Close on Lewis Hamilton’s Contract

The drivers’ market carousel for the 2021 season has now practically ended. But Mercedes are still yet to officialize the contract renewal of their champion driver, Lewis Hamilton.

Keeping negotiations on hold until the end of the season was always on the timeline. However, Team Principal Toto Wolff has now said that their idea is to get the contract signed and sealed latest by ‘testing’ time.

Wolff stated, “He [Hamilton] is on the top of his game and he will be for a while. And that’s why continuing together is a no-brainer.”

Mercedes prioritized the Championship over contract situation

“If you refer to why haven’t we got a signed contract? The reason is simple. We always prioritized about getting this championship done, and not being distracted by sometimes difficult discussions, as is the nature of negotiation.”

Reports indicated that December would become a crucial period for the negotiations between both parties. But Wolff insisted on not putting any ‘special date’ to it. And was quite confident that the renewal was going to come up soon enough.

The Mercedes boss further said, “But then COVID struck. So it has delayed us a little bit, but we are not worried in eventually getting it done.

“We are putting no special date to it, because we don’t want to be put under pressure from you guys [the media] while it’s not signed yet. So sooner or later, it needs to be done. At the latest before we go testing,” concluded Wolff on the topic.

Lewis Hamilton the best fit for Mercedes as they enter a new era in Formula 1

The best F1 driver on the grid currently, there is no reason for Hamilton to discontinue his relationship with Mercedes. Considering Wolff will stay on for 3 more years, it will motivate Hamilton to get his own contract sorted.

With 12 wins to his name this season, the Briton absolutely cruised to his 7th F1 title with almost no competition. And for fans, the hope is that Lewis signs the deal sooner rather than later.