Lewis Hamilton Ready To Sign Mercedes Contract, Dismisses Talks Of Delay

Lewis Hamilton reiterated his commitment to Mercedes Thursday amid speculation that the British driver could be considering his options owing to the Silver Arrows team’s poor start to the 2018 Formula 1 season.

The four-time F1 Drivers’ champion is in the final year of his contract with Mercedes and is yet to agree a new deal despite being in talks since the end of last season. Recently the Brackley-based team’s non-executive chairman Niki Lauda revealed they had reached an agreement in principal, but nothing is officially signed yet.

Mercedes are yet to win a race this season and it is the first time since the beginning of the V6 turbo era in 2014 that the reigning Constructors’ champions have failed to win after the opening three rounds. Ferrari won the opening two races in Australia and Bahrain respectively, while Red Bull Racing won the third round in China.

The Italian team also managed to out qualify the Mercedes team in the last two rounds — a feat that was unimaginable in power sensitive tracks such as Bahrain and China in the last four years. This led former Williams driver Damon Hill to suggest Hamilton could delay signing the new deal to see if the tide was turning against Mercedes and towards Ferrari, but the Briton denied he is waiting for anything and confirmed the team and driver are totally committed to one another beyond the 2018 season.

“I’m not waiting [for anything],” Hamilton said ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as quoted on F1.com. “I’m fully committed to Mercedes. [I plan] to be with the team for the future, so everything’s been about getting on with it.”

“Obviously we were planning on doing it after the last race. We had a lot on, I was not really around — I think I had one day at the factory and then I was in China and then I was in the States."

“It’s not a rushed thing. I’ve made it very, very clear and they made it very clear that they want to continue, so it’s quite an easy thing. I don’t think either of us have the personality to say, ‘I’m definitely going to be with you next year’ and then not be with them next year, so it’s just about finalizing and signing off,” the Mercedes driver added.

Hamilton, who spoke to the media on Thursday, also turned his attention to another popular sport in his homeland — football — and addressed the departure of Arsene Wenger from his boyhood club Arsenal after 22-years at the helm.

The Frenchman announced earlier this month that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the current season and Hamilton paid tribute to the Arsenal coach.

"I have always had great admiration for Arsene," Hamilton told Sky Sports News. "For anyone to have commitment to a team and the loyalty which he has shown through all the ups and downs, through outside individuals saying positives and negatives, but to stay true to your values and continue to strive for what you believe in I think has really been awesome."

"I've had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times. He asked me to go and train with the team, which I have not managed to do yet, but he was always really welcoming and it was cool to meet 'our team's' boss. I've supported Arsenal since I was five."

"I want to wish him all the best. I think his future is as bright as he wants it to be so I hope he takes the positivity out of all the great experiences he's had,” the British driver said.