Toto Wolff to lock Lewis Hamilton in a room and not let him out until new Mercedes deal done

Mercedes

Wolff to lock Hamilton in a room and not let him out until new Mercedes deal done

Target is to get a new contract signed as soon as possible

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 11 May 2021 05:02

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed his plan to lock Lewis Hamilton in a room and not let him out until a new long-term deal has been signed

Hamilton has made clear his intention this season to continue in F1 beyond the end of the year, while also declaring his hope any new contract will be signed before the summer break from early August.

Wolff is similarly eager to avoid the protracted and frustrating scenario that resulted in Hamilton not putting pen to paper on his current one-year deal until February and has a plan to do so.

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Asked initially by PA as to whether any new contract will be longer than a year, Wolff replied: "Yes, it should be.

“We don’t want to be in a stressful situation every single year where we are absolutely flat out trying to win races and needing to negotiate. I would rather that doesn’t happen every year.

“We just need to spend a day or two together, put it out there, and decide which are the difficult components.

“We will then lock the door and won’t walk out until it is sorted. That works best for us and it has worked best for us in the past. ”

As Hamilton will be 37 when the new contract starts next year, Wolff has not ruled out the seven-time champion continuing in F1 until he is 40 and beyond.

Questioned whether that was a possibility, Wolff added: “Yes, absolutely. I have no doubt about that. He is so disciplined that in a way it is inspiring.

“As long as Lewis continues to look after himself mentally and physically, continues to develop cognitively, then he can go on for much longer."

Comparing Hamilton to Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl title in January at the age of 43, Wolff remarked: “Look at Tom Brady, and we are talking about an athlete that is on the field. Here is a racing driver that has utilised all his senses. ”