Lewis Hamilton: Questions answered after F1 star pens new Mercedes deal

It's come almost six months later than we had all expected, but Lewis Hamilton finally committed his future to Mercedes, and Formula 1, on Wednesday, putting pen to paper on a new two-year deal with the Silver Arrows worth an estimated £40million a year.

The world champion's future had been a major question mark hanging over the 2018 campaign, although some do remain elsewhere.

Here we look to tie up some of the loose ends, and look ahead at what will follow Mercedes' announcement...

WHY TWO YEARS?

In essence, Hamilton could not have signed a contract any longer than two years, despite widespread reports that a three-year extension had been offered.

As the Concorde Agreement only runs to 2020, every team on the grid is only contracted to F1 until then - never mind the drivers.

Ferrari have been most at pains to make us aware that a team could walk away from F1 at the end of 2020 if they don't like the look of Liberty Media's plans for 2021 and beyond.

Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen are similarly committed to Ferrari and Red Bull respectively until the same point. We won't be seeing any longer deals signed until Liberty make some concrete plans for the future of F1.

SO WHAT'S NEXT?

A good handful of drivers have been waiting on this announcement for clarity on their own futures.

Top of that list is Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian is likely to follow suit and sign a fresh deal with Red Bull ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, with seats at Mercedes and Ferrari becoming filled.

That will have a chain reaction at Renault, who will be free to keep Carlos Sainz Jr if they wish. Reports of a potential deal with Fernando Alonso muddy the waters somewhat at the French team, however.

Valtteri Bottas is expected to remain as Hamilton's team-mate, so Esteban Ocon could be in line for a third season with Force India.

It also means George Russell may be short of options in F1, if he wins Formula 2. F2 champions are not allowed to return to the series and Sergio Perez is a solid pick for Force India, leaving a dreadful Williams team as F2 standings leader Russell's likely destination if he does win the junior category.

IS HAMILTON'S DEAL THE BIGGEST IN F1 HISTORY?

In terms of pure numbers, £40million a year makes Hamilton the best-paid driver in the history of F1.

There are some caveats. Ferrari paid Kimi Raikkonen an estimated £38million a year when they first signed him in 2007, although the figure may trump Hamilton's when inflation is applied.

Similarly, the £23million per year Michael Schumacher was paid by the Scuderia upon signing in 1996 translates to almost £43million in today's money.