Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is near signing a brand new take care of Mercedes amid rising hypothesis over his future.
The legendary British driver, 38, is out of contract on the finish of this season however is nearing a profitable conclusion in negotiations after making it clear that he needed to stick with his present crew for years to return. Rumours swirled earlier this week that Hamilton had been provided a £40million per yr bundle to affix Ferrari, a declare which crew principal Frederic Vasseur has now denied.
” that at this stage of the season you’ll have every week a unique story [about driver changes] and we aren’t sending a suggestion to Lewis Hamilton,” Vasseur acknowledged. “We did not do it.”
Now, forward of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton himself has quashed the hypothesis. “My private crew are working carefully behind the scenes with Toto [Wolff] and we’re nearly on the finish of getting a contract prepared,” the seven-time championship winner, who joined Mercedes in 2013, confirmed.
“Having a crew to concentrate on that job is a significantly better place than I used to be in earlier than. I used to do all of it alone and it was very irritating and I haven’t got to do this anymore.”
Hamilton added: “While right here just isn’t the most effective platform to see these come to fruition we are going to hopefully expertise that extra subsequent week. My crew are having discussions with the crew within the background, and we’re nearly there.”
Requested if there’d been any contact with Ferrari, the 38-year-old replied: “No.” Hamilton’s recent feedback align with what Vasseur, who labored with the Briton throughout his junior profession, needed to say.
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“We did not have discussions,” the Ferrari chief reiterated. “I believe each single crew on the grid wish to have Hamilton at one stage — it might be bull**** to not say one thing like this. If I’ve mentioned with Hamilton, [it’s because] I’ve had discussions with him for the final 20 years..
“I’ve mentioned issues nearly each single weekend with Hamilton. I do not need to should cease having discussions with him since you are chasing me [about a contract offer].”
Present Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who’s underneath contract till the tip of 2024, was quizzed on the studies by French outlet L’Equipe, however the Monaco-born ace wasn’t eager to search out his identify within the headlines. “I am not going to return into this area the place you are trying to make titles,” Leclerc declared.
The 25-year-old was then requested whether or not he’d be open to having Hamilton as a team-mate. “We’ll see what occurs sooner or later, however I do not need to remark as a result of if I do, you’ll make a headline out of it,” Leclerc responded in jovial vogue. “I am beginning to know the press!”
