Contract update - Hamilton’s huge contract demands “without foundation”

The Mercedes driver has not even started the negotiations to extend his F1 deal which currently expires at the end of this year, it is claimed.

“Stories claiming Hamilton is closing in on a £60m-per-year deal bankrolled by INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a one-third owner of the Mercedes F1 team, are understood by Sky Sports to be without foundation,” the UK F1 broadcaster reported.

Hamilton has sat at No1 in the list of F1 driver salaries for some time and that is expected to continue when his new deal is formalised.

Now 38, he enters 2023 aiming for the all-time record eighth championship but must hope that his team provides him with the machinery needed to battle Max Verstappen.

"We are so aligned,” Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, said about his star driver’s contract talks. 

“It's just a matter of him physically being back in Europe, sticking our heads together, wrestling a bit, and then leaving the room with white smoke after a few hours."

Hamilton has spent the offseason in Antarctica and Los Angeles.