Toto Wolff has explained what is going on behind-the-scenes as Mercedes try to agree a new Formula 1 contract with Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champion's deal expires at the end of the 2023 season, but Hamilton remains committed to Mercedes to try and return them to title-winning ways. There was speculation around the time of the Monaco Grand Prix that Ferrari had tabled a multi-million pound contract, but this was given short-shrift by both Hamilton and Scuderia boss Frederic Vasseur. Previous Hamilton deals have been signed just weeks before the new season, including his one-year contract for 2021 that was secured in February, just before pre-season testing, while his current two-year deal was only signed in July 2021 for '22 and '23.
Behind-the-scenes of contract talks
"Obviously, there's more people involved because there's Lewis' management, lawyers on our side and it is never down to me alone," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.com. "But I would say that when it comes to the nitty gritty details – the things that are important – Lewis and I spent an afternoon together in New York sitting on a sofa. "There wasn't any beer, but a mineral water." Since ditching their zero sidepod concept and adopting a more conventional design, Mercedes have banked three podiums in 2023, including a two-three result in Spain – their equal second-best result of the entire ground effects era. The team are also bringing a fresh round of upgrades to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, with Wolff believing that a "positive dynamic" is returning to Brackley. "I think we can see, I can see the positive dynamic cascading, transcending into the organisation," he said. "We feel that the car is coming together, we see that our data is yielding results on track and we haven't felt it in a long time. "That contributes to this place being in a very good place."
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