Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to be given "first discussions" with Mercedes for 2022 - Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton

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Hamilton and Bottas to be given "first discussions" with Mercedes for 2022 - Wolff

Mercedes has options for 2022

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 9 February 2021 09:29

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have been promised by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff he will discuss their futures for 2022 and beyond with them first before George Russell.

Wolff finds himself in the enviable, but also problematic position of knowing that at the end of this year all three of his drivers are out of contract.

Hamilton has only signed a new one-year deal for this season; Bottas is on a rolling one-year contract, while Mercedes junior Russell has a three-year agreement with Williams that expires after this season.

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It has recently been assumed that as the future of F1, Russell would join Mercedes from 2022, but Wolff has confirmed he will first speak with Hamilton and Bottas to determine what their plans are.

Asked whether this would be Hamilton's last with Mercedes should he win a record-breaking eighth world title, Wolff replied: “I think Lewis needs to decide what his future holds for him.

"That is why I wouldn’t want to comment on where Lewis stands and, on the other side, the team needs to decide long-term what we are going to do about drivers.

“Valtteri and Lewis have our 100 per cent commitment for 2021. We will support them with everything we have and we will then look beyond this year and say ‘What is the line-up that we imagine in 2022 and onwards?’.

“Our first discussions are going to be with Valtteri and Lewis in respecting our values of loyalty and integrity.

"But on the other side, the young drivers are the future and therefore we need to consider how we want to set ourselves up for the years beyond.”

Wolff has no doubt Hamilton "is very capable of going longer" given his fitness both mentally and physically, and "as long as he enjoys racing".

While naturally refusing to divulge details about the latest deal, Wolff has intimated there was respect as to the other's position when it came down to negotiations.

From Hamilton's perspective, he has become a global superstar, while for Daimler, the landscape has changed dramatically in recent times in terms of the company's financial picture and future outlook as far as the road car industry is concerned.

"We have always been quite aligned with what the other side would expect and I think we, at Daimler, said that last time around, for me, he is the best driver," added Wolff.

“He has a huge global following, much beyond the racing fan, and he has won seven championships without making major mistakes in the last few years.

“Like many within the team and the wider organisation, he is an important pillar of the team’s success.

"On the other side, Lewis recognises he is one of 2,000 that we have within our team, engine and chassis, and that it’s not two superstars but we are 2,000 superstars and each of us contributes to the team’s success.

“He has this helicopter perspective on the wider world out there – it was a very tough year for us personally from a health standpoint and also from an economic standpoint.

"So he knew that, even though he delivered on his side, there is a financial and economic reality out there that is important to respect.”