Lewis Hamilton contract breakthrough as Toto Wolff confirms two agreements

Lewis Hamilton shows off his impressive surfing skills

Lewis Hamilton’s new contract could be close to being finalised with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff making two admissions ahead of the British Grand Prix. The Silver Arrows chief confirmed the length of Hamilton’s new deal and financial terms had already been agreed.

Instead, Wolff confirmed the delay was down to the “future” which is likely sorting out an ambassadorial deal with the German marque.

Hamilton’s current agreement expires at the end of this season meaning the team have just months left to sort it out.

However, Wolff is still confident of getting pen to paper soon as he hinted negotiations were in their last stages. Wolff said: “I’m still very confident [of striking a deal]. They want to do it super, to every detail and sometimes you can have a situation where everything is carved out.

“This is not a money discussion at all. It is about the future, what is it that we want to do right and optimise? We’re not talking anything anymore about duration, money, all of that – it’s other topics.”

According to The Mail, Mercedes bosses have not agreed to Hamilton’s demands for a 10-year ambassador deal with the manufacturer.

READ MORE Lewis Hamilton singles out two F1 rivals for special praise ahead of British GP

Reports also suggested Hamilton failed in his bid to get a long-term racing deal which would have kept him in the squad until 2028. Instead, sources have suggested Mercedes are offering a one-year deal with the option of a second.

But, there are fears talks have stalled with Hamilton appearing to change his tone between races. In Spain, Hamilton claimed a new contract could be sorted in days while he was less optimistic in Canada, refusing to set a deadline on ending talks.

He explained: “I don’t really have a huge amount to say on the contract side of things. It’ll get done when it’s done. If that’s next week, if that’s in a month’s time, as long as it gets done it doesn’t really bother me.”

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Tensions then increased in Austria with Hamilton criticising the W14 after a poor performance. Wolff then took to team radio to issue a stern warning to his star, demanding Hamilton just “drive the car”.

But, Wolff admitted the telling off would not have any impact on getting a deal over the line. He said: “You should hear us talking on the phone and meeting each other – that was nothing!

“No, [it will] not [have an impact] at all. We’ve had a bad spell of a weekend all of us in the team and that just makes us stronger.”

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