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Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says there is no rush to finalize Lewis Hamilton’s new contract and that he could wait until well into the new year.
The Hamilton deal expires at the end of 2020 and the talks are at an early stage.
Wolff said: “We are not worried about eventually making it. We are not putting a special date on it because we don’t want to be under pressure.”
“Sooner or later it must be done and at the latest before we go to test [ahead of the 2021 season]. “
Next year’s preseason tests will take place in just three days at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit in Spain from March 2 to 4.
Wolff said he and Hamilton always intended not to begin contract negotiations until this year’s championship titles were won.
But he said Hamilton contracted the coronavirus before the penultimate race of the season “it slowed us down a bit.”
Wolff added: “We had such a successful championship streak in the last seven years that there is no reason not to continue. He is at the top of his game and will be for a while, and that is why continuing together is a no-brainer.” . . “
Mercedes announced on Friday that chemical giant Ineos would take a third of the team’s shares, while Daimler and Wolff held equal amounts.
Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe said: “Lewis is the best, or one of the two or three best racing drivers in history. There is absolutely no question about it; he just has immense talent. And he’s a guy. very nice because I ‘have to know him a little.
“But at the end of the day, all these decisions predominantly fall on Toto. Toto has to lead that team.
“The only thing I would say about Lewis is that his abilities haven’t diminished. He’s clearly on top of his game, even though he’s 35 years old.”
