Hamilton wasn't "ready mentally" to sign new Mercedes deal during lockdown

Lewis Hamilton has no regrets over missing a window of opportunity during Formula 1's lockdown period earlier this year to sign a new contract with Mercedes.

With the season just over six weeks away from concluding, Hamilton has yet to put pen to paper on a contract extension with the team, despite both he and Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff insisting the desire is to continue.

On reflection, given the free time that was available prior to the F1 season finally starting in early July, Hamilton and Wolff should have sat down and discussed terms given the latter has often stated there has since been no time to do so due to the cramped calendar.

Hamilton, however, has claimed that over the first half of the year when the world was dealing with Covid-19, he was not in the right frame of mind to mull over a new deal.

"I think Hungary last year, Toto was already talking about signing the contract," revealed Hamilton. "Of course, the pandemic wasn’t then.

"I look back and think ‘Maybe I should have signed it then’ but I think things happen at the right time and I definitely wasn’t ready mentally at the time.

"I wanted to give myself space mentally to really think about what I want to do, think if there are any adjustments I want to do, how can we get more out of each other, how can I give them an easier time, and sometimes it’s better quality over quantity.

"So, I’m constantly working on the relationships I have, and it’s a long process, and I think we’re still growing together. I definitely don’t think its over, I really want to continue.

"I think once we get the job done and the stress of the bubble and everything passes us I think we can get into whatever uncomfortable or comfortable position we need to be in and get it done so we can continue.

Hamilton's sights are now set on securing his seventh world title, which is likely to be at the Turkish Grand Prix on November 15 if nothing untoward occurs during this weekend's Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.

A spanner, however, has been thrown into the works in that F1 is set to implement a driver salary cap from 2023. Whether that speeds up the timeline between Hamilton and Mercedes remains to be seen.

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