Lewis Hamilton Happy To Delay Contract Talks As Liberty Media Propose Changes

Lewis Hamilton is in no rush to sign his new deal with Mercedes after stating this contract could be the ‘most important’ one of his career.

The four-time world champion will be a free agent at the end of the 2018 campaign, but Mercedes are keen to tie him down to a new long-term deal. They have been in talks since the end of last season, but are yet to reach an agreement.

Hamilton is unclear on the length of his new deal after indicating earlier this year that he could retire from Formula 1 in the next two years. Recent reports suggested he is close to agreeing a three-year deal worth $168 million, but he made it clear there was nothing on the table at the moment with the team and the driver still in talks.

Mercedes and Hamilton have expressed their commitment to each other a number of times in the recent past, but Helmut Marko, adviser to the Red Bull Racing team and head of their young driver development program suggested the delay was due to the British driver increasing his demands after the team approached Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel to replace Valtteri Bottas next season.

“The next contract is probably the most important one of my career," Hamilton told reporters at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Thursday, as quoted by Sky Sports. "The last contract was the most important up until that point and the next one after that will be more important than the last one.”

"The decision as to how long you want to commit to being in Formula 1 is becoming more important being as that I'm at the latter end of my career, so it's one I'm not going to rush into."

"There is no rush, I will not be rushed into it. Ultimately you want to have all the information,” the Briton said.

Meanwhile, Hamilton seemed happy to have delayed his contract signing with Mercedes after Liberty Media announced they are set to make a presentation to all the teams ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix about their vision for F1’s future.

The new owners are set to meet with the bosses of all ten teams and put forward a plan for improving the sport once the current Concorde agreement that binds all the teams expires. Hamilton is keen to see what changes are set to be enforced and how it affects the drivers and the teams before making a decision about the length of his new contract.

The Mercedes driver, however, remains relaxed about the delay in agreeing a new deal as he is certain the loyalty is total from both sides. Mercedes are keen to hold on to Hamilton for the foreseeable future and the Briton is also certain he wants to remain in the sport with the team that has brought him three of his four F1 Drivers’ championships.

“I hear there is some sort of announcement to be made at some stage and I'm interested to see what is happening in Formula 1 because I am an integral part of it," Hamilton said. "It would be great to know how it all sits for us. Maybe it's going to affect you guys [the media], who knows?”

"It's actually come at a pretty good time because I still haven't put pen to paper."

"It's good for the team and good for us and it's important that we do take our time. You should never ever rush it. The team is not saying they are talking to other drivers and since I've been with the team I've never spoken to another team," he added.

"It's a joint thing. If we had it ready we would sign today,” the four-time world champion added.