Ever since being brutally denied his 8th world championship in the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale, Lewis Hamilton hasn’t performed at the same level. Team Mercedes failed to adapt to the ground-effect regulations that came into force in 2022. The team could only manage one race win in the entire season, that too courtesy of George Russell. Hamilton, for the first time in his F1 career, went a full season without a race win. That depressing run has continued in 2023. However, there is one space where the Briton still enjoys unchallenged supremacy over Max Verstappen. Recent developments, however, show that is set to change in the coming years.

Hamilton joined F1 in 2007 and almost immediately proved his worth in gold. In his rookie season, he missed out on the championship title by just one point while accruing the same number of points as the defending champion, Fernando Alonso. That saw an uptick in the brand that he is and has only built over it with unprecedented success in the sport.

Max Verstappen ready to take over Lewis Hamilton’s crazy record

Ever since the start of the 2014 season and with it the beginning of the hybrid engine era, Mercedes and Hamilton enjoyed absolute supremacy until 2021. During this time, the boy from Stevenage saw his salary grow manifold, which peaked in 2020. As per Fox Sports Australia, Hamilton earned an eye-watering $76 million that year. Currently worth $200 million (as per caknowledge.com), Verstappen will overtake that figure soon.

As per journalist Julien Fébreau, Verstappen is currently drawing an annual salary of 55 million Euros ($61.66 million). That figure is set to increase by 5 million Euros ($5.61 million) every year until the Dutchman’s contract with the team expires in 2028.

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If that certainly is the case, Verstappen will take over Hamilton’s record salary figure in 2026. However, there is one way Mercedes can prevent that from happening. By offering their star driver a more lucrative contract as his current one is set to expire at the end of this year.

Will Lewis Hamilton stay with Mercedes?

As Mercedes’ abysmal run refused to end in 2023, many speculated if Hamilton will look for a move elsewhere in search of the coveted 8th world title. Some rumors even linked him to Ferrari, while others feel he will simply retire at the end of the season. However, the Briton put an end to such rumors in a recent interview.

Speaking with ESPN, he said, “I started at McLaren, I’d like to think I’ll always be a part of the McLaren family, I started there when I was 13 years old [as a junior driver], so I thought about what it would look like if I was at McLaren one day.”

“I thought about and watched the Ferrari drivers on the screens at the track and of course you wonder what it would be like to be in red… But then I go to my team, to Mercedes, and this is my home.”

“I’m happy where I am. I haven’t signed a contract yet, but we are working on one.”

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After the P2 finish in Melbourne, Hamilton had a hard time in Baku. Do you think he can bounce back at the star-studded Miami GP?