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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has described a brand new contract for Lewis Hamilton as a “no-brainer” however insisted on Friday there was no hurry for the world champion to signal on the dotted line. The British driver claimed his seventh world title final month — equalling Michael Schumacher’s report — and sixth in seven years with Mercedes, however will not be but tied to the staff for 2021. Mercedes teased {that a} deal could be confirmed imminently, with a tweet on Thursday carrying the hashtag “announce'” and a quote from Hamilton emphasising his need to stick with the staff.
There has thus far been no replace, however Wolff stated: “He is on the top of his game and he will be for a while, so that is why continuing together is a no-brainer.
“We all the time prioritised the championship and never being distracted by typically tough discussions, as is the character of negotiation.
“And then Covid struck (Hamilton missed the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain after testing positive for the virus) so it has delayed us a bit, but we are not worried in eventually getting it done.
“We should not placing a particular date on it. Sooner or later it must be completed and the most recent is once we go testing subsequent yr.”
Hamilton stated after final week’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that he needed to get his deal “tied up earlier than Christmas”.
Pre-season testing is due to take place in early March, most likely in Barcelona.
Ineos share
Mercedes announced earlier on Friday that Wolff had extended his role as team principal and chief executive for a further three years.
The Formula One team also announced that chemicals giant Ineos was taking a one-third share in the team alongside parent company Daimler and Wolff.
Ineos, owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, will be an equal partner in the team. Daimler will reduce its current 60 percent shareholding and Wolff will increase his current 30 percent.
Ineos, which has a growing sports portfolio including football, cycling and sailing interests, was announced as Mercedes’ principal partner earlier this year.
“Big challenges are a core a part of our mindset at Ineos and our involvement throughout quite a lot of completely different sports activities demonstrates that we all the time goal for the perfect,” stated Ineos chairman Ratcliffe.
Promoted
“When we entered Formula One earlier this yr, we selected to take action with a Mercedes staff that had set new benchmarks, and since then we’ve been in discussions about how we may improve our involvement.”
Wolff said: “This new funding from Ineos confirms that the enterprise case for Formula One groups is strong and sends an necessary sign of confidence within the sport after a difficult yr.”
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