Hamilton deal will be signed soon - Wolff

Toto Wolff fully expects Lewis Hamilton to sign a new Mercedes deal imminently, with both parties "finalising the last topics". The four-time Formula 1 world champion's current contract expires at the end of the season, but he has been expected to renew terms.

Hamilton and Mercedes have dominated the hybrid era, with the Silver Arrows winning four straight constructors' titles and the Briton three of the last four individual crowns.

Both Hamilton and Mercedes claimed over the winter that the deal might have been signed before the Australian Grand Prix, although it is yet to be penned as action has commenced in Melbourne.

"The contract - we have been discussing before going into the winter holiday and then we kind of left it there to get away from Formula 1 and picked it up again in January," Wolff told Friday's constructors' press conference.

"These discussions are going in the right way and we finalising the last topics and there is no reason to not think that is not going to happen soon.

"He is in a good frame of mind, I've seen him coming back strong from the winter."

Earlier in his career, Hamilton often spoke of his desire to match the records set by his idol Ayrton Senna.

The Briton has surpassed Senna's tallies of race wins and pole positions already and Wolff has recently suggested that eclipsing more of the ultimate record-holder Michael Schumacher's benchmarks could be a motivating factor for Hamilton in the coming years.

Only Schumacher (7) and Juan Manuel Fangio (5) have more titles than Hamilton, but Wolff was wary of putting too much pressure on the fight to match the Argentine, who dominated in the 1950s.

"Whether it plays a role, I don't know," he said. "But clearly with the four championships he is within a very good group of drivers and obviously the next one is to be achieved.

"But I don't think it's a good omen to discuss it or think too much about it. It's better to look at those records afterwards."