Hamilton Reveals Rivals' Approach Before Signing New Mercedes Deal

Lewis Hamilton thanked Mercedes for being patient with him after he finally put pen to paper on a new two-year deal to remain with the team until the end of the 2020 season.

The contract talks between Hamilton and Mercedes was a long drawn saga which began at the end of last season and the process took much longer than expected despite both the driver and team continually stating their commitment to each other.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team principal Toto Wolff revealed that the final documents of the deal, believed to be worth £40m ($52m), were signed earlier this week and they were keen to put an end to speculation regarding the reasons for the delay in reaching an agreement.

“I really appreciate Toto being so patient with me because l am not the easiest," Hamilton said Thursday, as quoted on Sky Sports. "Most people wouldn't have given the timeframe l chose to take. But it shows the trust we have between each other."

Hamilton’s delay in signing the deal led to speculation suggesting that he was waiting to see if Mercedes are still the dominant team in the sport as Ferrari have shown this season they could usurp them to the championship.

While a few in the paddock suggested that Mercedes had balked at the demands made by the British driver. The reported $52m wages per season is likely to make him the joint highest earning driver on the grid alongside Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton confirmed Thursday that one of Red Bull or Ferrari — Mercedes’ rivals in the title race — had made a move to sign him, but refused to divulge more details regarding the identity of the interested team.

"One did but I didn't give it any air,” the Briton said about a move made by one of Ferrari or Red Bull Racing.

The 33-year-old was initially expected to sign a three-year deal, but admitted that the length of his contract was a strategic decision made by him in order to give him more options in 2021 when the landscape of the sport is expected to change.

The current Concorde Agreement that binds all the F1 teams comes to an end once the 2020 season concludes and the new owners — Liberty Media — have proposed a raft of changes, which are still up for debate between the teams.

"We were talking about doing a three [-year deal] but Formula 1's shapes are shifting and F1 is not committed to all the teams moving forward beyond 2021 and l am interested to see how that all plays out," the four-time F1 world champion added. "It didn't make sense to commit into the unknown. Commercially everything could change, and you don't want to put yourself in a corner, so it was a strategic decision by myself."

The F1 title battle will resume Sunday with all the teams currently in Hockenheim, Germany, for the 10th race of the season. The first free practice session will begin Friday at 5 a.m. EDT.