Lewis Hamilton contract: Mercedes tease imminent announcement with four-word message

F1: How Hamilton compares to Schumacher

Mercedes have teased fans once again that an announcement on Lewis Hamilton’s new contract isn’t too far away. Hamilton’s contract saga has dominated the F1 offseason in regards to whether he will in fact stay.

Mercedes have maintained their confidence that Hamilton will sign a new deal, but negotiations have certainly taken longer than expected.

The 36-year-old confirmed that talks were not going to begin until after the final race of last season, but that was now well over a month ago.

Hamilton’s contract talks with Mercedes have dragged on for months in the past, but that’s usually been during a season where they have little time to sit down and discuss things through thoroughly.

Leaving it so late with the F1 season set to get underway at the end of next month is somewhat unprecedented and could leave Mercedes in a tricky situation.

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They’re set to unveil the new W12 car for the 2021 season this month and teams usually pull out their driver line-up to stand alongside the new-look livery.

Fans are eager to see Hamilton confirmed as a Mercedes driver soon with their Twitter feed often bombarded with messages in hope of seeing an update.

Mercedes have built a reputation on social media with their teasing interactions with fans and have dropped another hint that an announcement is imminent.

The Silver Arrows took to Twitter to celebrate the start of February with a picture of Valtteri Bottas on a track along with the caption: “It’s finally February! One month closer to being back on track.”

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The post attracted plenty of interest from Mercedes fans, with several comments asking for an update on Hamilton’s contract.

One Twitter user replied: “And yet you’ve announced nothing.”

Mercedes’ admin caught wind of the comment though and gave a teasing response.

“All in good time,” they replied.

Confusion over Hamilton’s future with Mercedes has led to some suggestions that George Russell could be given a seat alongside Bottas.

And former F1 driver Jan Lammers believes Toto Wolff could threaten Hamilton with the possibility of promoting Russell to try and rush along negotiations with the seven-time world champion.

“I don’t think Mercedes expected Russell to do so well Prix,” Lammers told RacingNews365.

“But now that it does, it would be foolish for Mercedes not to use it against Hamilton in the contract negotiations.

“And we all know one thing for sure and that is that team boss Toto Wolff is not stupid.”

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