Hamilton rubbishes Mercedes contract dispute rumours

Lewis Hamilton has slated reports that contract talks with Formula 1 team Mercedes have hit a stumbling block.

Hamilton is out of contract with Mercedes at the end of 2020, and with Ferrari locking in Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for 2021, it is unlikely the six-time champion will elect to race elsewhere.

Across the lockdown, reports have suggested Hamilton has asked for more money than Mercedes want to pay, with suggestions it is only willing to offer half of his apparent $40million demands.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Hamilton have always maintained the talks are yet to begin, and that the pair will only sit down to discuss an extension once the season is firmly underway.

Responding to the latest claims via social media, Hamilton said: "So the media keep writing about a contract and me making demands but I haven't even spoken with Toto about it yet.

"No demands, the conversation hasn't even begun. So please stop making shit up."

Wolff, meanwhile, has made clear there is no rush to get the deal sorted.

"I think simply based on the fact that we haven’t seen each other a lot, we have been keeping the discussion up, we are in a position of trust with both of the drivers," said Wolff. "You could say that in Formula 1 it doesn’t mean a lot – but it does in our team.

"I guess that we will do the next steps soon but I don’t want to commit to any timing because I don’t want to answer questions every single race weekend about why the contracts are not done.

"There is no urgency in the matter. All of us want to do it and when the time is right, we will announce it."

Hamilton topped both practice sessions on Friday and heads into Saturday as the bookmakers firm favourite to take pole for the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.

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