Lewis Hamilton may only have one way to overcome Mercedes contract problem

F1: Lewis Hamilton goes cross-country skiing

Former F1 driver Jan Lammers reckons Lewis Hamilton may only have one solution to solve his Mercedes contract dilemma. The Brit is thought to be at loggerheads with the Silver Arrows over his salary demands.

Hamilton is keen to keep his £40million-a-year earnings but Mercedes want to cut costs given the financial implications caused by the coronavirus.

There are no other seats on the F1 grid available to Hamilton for the 2021 season so his hand at the negotiating table is weak.

Mercedes are desperate to keep hold of their seven-time world champion and Lammers reckons they hold all the power.

However, the 64-year-old reckons Hamilton could get what he wants if another party agrees to some of his salary .

“Personally, I think the chance that Mercedes will yield to Hamilton is many times smaller than the other way around,” Lammers told RacingNews365.

JUST IN: Lewis Hamilton laid the foundation for Formula One’s We Race As One

“You never know what forces are at play, but I don’t think Mercedes will compromise.

“If there is a deal on the table later, it will be because an external party has come up with a solution.”

One option is for Mercedes co-owners Daimler to dig deep into their pockets.

Former F1 star David Coulthard recently told Express Sport how that could pan out.

DON’T MISS:
Russell proved Alonso’s F1 theory after standing in for Hamilton [NEWS]
Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris will be no ‘comedy duo’ for McLaren [OPINION]
Hamilton’s former right-hand man tasked with guiding Schumacher Jnr [NEWS]

“Lewis and Toto will have that conversation together and if Toto is not empowered to give Lewis what he wants then Lewis has the ability to go to Ola Kallenius at Daimler and say ‘Ola, I want to do this deal, you are also the shareholders, can you make this happen?'” Coulthard explained.

“Mercedes have the ability to add should they choose.

“They also have the ability to say to Toto ‘we are not investing any more money in the drivers than we did last year.

“If Lewis wants more money the answer from our side is no – you have to go and find it from somewhere else’.”

Express Sport understands that Mercedes are confident they can strike a deal with Hamilton before pre-season testing commences in March.

The Silver Arrows have already confirmed half of their driver line-up as Valtteri Bottas’ deal runs until the end of the year.

Source: Read Full Article