Toto Wolff has quashed reports suggesting that Ferrari have held talks with Lewis Hamilton over a 2024 Formula 1 drive, with Wolff revealing a "pact" that he holds with Hamilton. Speculation emerged prior to the Monaco Grand Prix that the Scuderia were reportedly preparing to make a £40 million offer to Hamilton to race for the team. The rumours were denied by Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur, while Hamilton himself also insisted that his team are "almost there" in terms of signing a new contract with Mercedes. This notion has been supported by Wolf.
Wolff on Hamilton-Ferrari speculation
When asked about the reports linking Hamilton to Ferrari, Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.com : "There's nothing behind that. "I think that, how it is at the moment with us, we are in a super happy position with Lewis. There weren't any stumbling blocks in the contract negotiations. "We have a pact – and we've had that since many, many years – that we wouldn't talk to any other driver before we have taken a decision to stay together or not, so I was never a millimetre in doubt that there was any discussion. "Someone just placed that [story], maybe to, in a way, play a role in what seemed to be negotiation, but it is not negotiation. It is sitting at a table and saying, 'What is it we need to adapt to in the contract?' "So there's nothing to it."
Details of new contract
Quizzed further on whether Hamilton's new contract – with his current deal set to expire at the end of 2023 – is ready, Wolff explained that the wording has changed very little since the seven-time World Champion joined the team back in 2013. "The contract was ready in 2013," Wolff responded. "We've never really changed a lot of words in there." Wolff will not be drawn, though, on how many years Hamilton's latest deal might cover. "I don't want to talk yet because the two of us, Lewis and the team, we want to do the best work for each of us," the team boss added. "We're talking terms, we're talking options and all of that and [we're] completely aligned. It's really [about] brainstorming what's best."
Most read
