F1 Rumour: Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes Contract Revealed
The negotiation of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes contract has been rumoured to be finalised with team principal Toto Wolff, and could keep going until he is fifty-years-old.
The seven-time champion's current contract expires at the end of the 2023 season and he has previously expressed interest in extending this. According to Sportune, the British driver is set to be paid $49 million (£40 million) per year on a two year contract extension until the end of the 2025 season.
On top of this, if he wins the championship he will get a bonus of $27 million (£22 million). The report from Sportune also suggests that Mercedes offered to continue on the same salary as before, $38 millions (£31 million) but this was negotiated up.
An important part of the contract for Hamilton was a continued commitment to support his Mission 44 foundation. The F1 legend invests $9 million (£7 million) into the foundation and this will be increasing to $16 million (£13 million).
The deal is rumoured to be until Hamilton is 40-years-old but there are also discussions to keep him as an ambassador for an additional ten years. This would get Hamilton an extra $27 million (£22 million).
The 2023 F1 season is set to start with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday 5th March and with the late developments the Mercedes team in 2022 they are confident they will be able to come back in a much more competitive position.
Hamilton has recently spoken about his contract during an interview with The New York Times, saying that his dream would be to retire as a champion. He currently holds the record, tied with Michael Schumacher, with them both have seven championship wins each. If Hamilton was to finish his F1 career as a champion, he would be making history with an eighth championship.