Lewis Hamilton Gives a Hard Hitting Response to Fake Reports of Him Demanding More Money from Mercedes F1

With Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen already confirmed for 2021 and beyond, all eyes are on Lewis Hamilton. However, the six-time F1 world champion has yet to commence negotiations with Mercedes for a contract extension.

Initially, there were numerous media reports suggesting that neither party saw eye-to-eye over wage demands. According to the 35-year-old, this was untrue. He expressed the same in an Instagram post, which was subsequently deleted.

“FYI (Team principal) Toto (Wolff) and I have not even spoken about contract yet,” he said. “Nothing is being negotiated currently, papers making up stories.”

Apparently, the Italian media triggered the rumours when they suggested that Hamilton was seeking $60 million a year. Subsequently, Red Bull’s motorsport head Helmut Marko fanned the flames when he spoke to Autobild. The Austrian insinuated that Ferrari would be the only team willing to pay such an exorbitant amount for Hamilton.

Even Ferrari themselves got in on the act when they revealed that  Lewis Hamilton met chairman John Elkann in a social visit. After he took a two year deal in 2018, Hamilton’s future is back under the floodlights.

What is the story of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes so far?

The British star joined Mercedes at the end of the 2012 season and has not looked back since. For obvious reasons, Mercedes would love to keep a hold of him for a long time. However, the situation has become complicated, courtesy speculation over team boss Toto Wolff’s future.

With Mercedes’ finger in another pie, cslled Formula E, their commitment to F1 has been questioned. However, Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius insisted that Mercedes were not going to leave Formula One any time soon.

Coming back to the Mercedes F1 team, their 2020 challenger will break cover on Feb. 14, with testing in Barcelona starting five days later.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton will be fired up to chase several Formula One records. This includes the record for the most F1 titles. If he wins in 2020, he will equal Mercedes predecessor Michael Schumacher’s tally.