February contract talks for Lewis Hamilton as Toto Wolff hints at Mercedes Formula One stay

Mercedes

February contract talks for Hamilton as Wolff hints at Mercedes F1 stay

Talks to begin as soon as the two meet for testing

Sam Hall

Wednesday 5 February 2020 19:15

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirms that talks with Lewis Hamilton over a contract extension will begin in February and also hints that Mercedes will continue to race in Formula One beyond the current campaign.

There has been plenty of rumour and speculation surrounding the contract of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Ferrari are being consistently linked with a move - Helmut Marko at Red Bull suggesting the Scuderia may be the only team that could afford the six-time champion - and rumours of a breakdown in talks with Mercedes were shot down by the driver himself.

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Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Wolff confirmed that he has hardly spoken to Hamilton in the off-season but that talks regarding a new deal would begin when the two meet ahead of testing in February.

"The last time we met was at the Christmas party," said Wolff. "We chatted a bit about the future. Since then we have only talked about WhatsApp.

"If you're on top of each other for ten months, it is important to also refrain from doing so. That's why we decided to leave ourselves alone in December and January.

"When it starts again in February, we will sit down and discuss."

Wolff also hinted at a continued involvement for Mercedes in Formula One into 2021 and beyond.

However, speculation has kept open the possibility of Mercedes leaving the sport as a constructor and reverting back to being a power unit supplier - McLaren have been linked with becoming the factory outfit for the manufacturer in this instance.

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"Mercedes will definitely race in 2021," continued Wolff. "We want to stay with it. Formula 1 makes sense for us.

“The general conditions must be right. Formula 1 must work as such. We want to have a Concorde agreement that we can live with.

"That doesn't mean that we always want to get more out of Mercedes. It has to be a well-balanced contract, for us and for the smaller teams as well."