Mercedes is Hamilton’s ‘obvious choice’ ahead of £120m F1 contract talks

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is confident of locking down Lewis Hamilton on a mega new Formula 1 contract as he feels the two are both ‘obvious choices’ for each other in the current driver market.

Wolff says contract negotiations between Hamilton and Mercedes will take place over the winter break with the German manufacturer keen to tie down the newly-crowned four-time F1 world champion with his current deal set to expire at the end of 2018.

With Sebastian Vettel recently re-signing at Ferrari and Max Verstappen inking a new Red Bull deal which both run until the end of 2020, Wolff feels Hamilton’s best bet is to stay at Mercedes having clinched three drivers’ world crowns together since the British driver switched from McLaren in 2013.

“We’ve always said is that we want to discuss it once the season has come to a close. We’re going to start this discussion now,” Wolff confirmed in Abu Dhabi.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that we are the team of choice for Lewis. Lewis is the driver of choice for us. We performed well this year together and I think we would want to continue for a few more years.”

Reports have emerged that Mercedes is preparing to offer Hamilton a £120m three-year deal to see him stay with the German manufacturer until the end of the 2021 season.

Beyond 2018 Vettel and Verstappen are the only two drivers on the F1 grid to have their futures sorted with Hamilton set to be a key figure in the driver market, while Daniel Ricciardo preapres to understand his options beyond next season as he hunts for a title-contending race seat.