F1 News: Lewis Hamilton "Is Not Happy" As Mercedes Contract Rumours Swirl
Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner has weighed in on the rumours surrounding Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes contract.
There has been a huge amount of speculation over the British driver's contract with Mercedes which is currently due to expire at the end of this season. The most recent rumours have been that Ferrari president John Elkann is in contact with Hamilton and is offering him a whopping £40 million contract to move to the Maranello-based squad.
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Despite the rumours, Hamilton and Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff have remained adamant that they will continue together and are insisting that contract negotiations are currently ongoing.
Now, Steiner has weighed in on the matter during an interview with PA News Agency, explaining:
"Lewis will stay with Mercedes until the end of his career.
"What other opportunities are out there for him? Think about that one. What other options are around? I don’t think he has many.
"He is at a stage where he is so close [to the end] that doing anything different and getting used to something else would not be very positive for him.
"He is not happy this year because he hasn’t won a race. But he has had a lot of good years with Mercedes so he needs to stick with the people who made him.”
The Brackley-based team has struggled during the ground effect era with the zero sidepod design of the W13 and W14. 2022 marked the first year in Hamilton's long career where he has not won a single race, and when the team were ready to come back in a more competitive position for 2023, they have had issues against Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Ferrari.
There have not been any official announcements yet over Hamilton's contract, however, it is widely anticipated that a contract extension with the Mercedes team will be confirmed later this season. Although there will be some fans hoping for a major mix-up on the grid.