Hamilton reveals rival F1 team tried to sign him from Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton says a rival Formula 1 team tried to sign him for 2019 but insists he did not give it any consideration before agreeing a new deal with Mercedes. 

Mercedes announced Hamilton had signed a two-year contract extension to remain with the team until the end of 2020 on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s German Grand Prix. 

But Hamilton revealed one of the reigning world champions’ F1 rivals attempted to lure him from Mercedes, though he refused to disclose which team had signalled an interest. 

“In terms of the other guys approaching, one did but I didn’t give it any time,” Hamilton said, before later adding: “You can make whatever assumption you want.

“The one thing that shows is the trust we have between each other. I said from day one, ‘look I’m not talking to anyone else, I’m not investigating to see what other options there are, I’m not playing you against anyone else. 

“While I know there are drivers calling you - which I expect - I also trust that you’re not thinking to do anything else so we can take our time.”

Hamilton said the deal to remain with Mercedes had been agreed month’s ago and explained why the announcement was delayed. 

“It might have been before or after Monaco [it was done],” Hamilton said. “Then there were bits here and there where I was like ‘Hey, Toto can I change this or can we do this instead of that’ and then we didn’t revisit it for another few weeks. We took our time.

“I decided to take my time with it. When you have such a big decision, it’s not something you can do in a couple of weeks. You could, but ultimately when you make a decision you always say ‘oh shoot, I should have thought about that and I should have thought about that’. 

“My negotiations was the longest I have eked it out, but it wasn’t like we were talking every week during that whole period of time,” he added. "We started having the discussion at the beginning of the year, but I just kept delaying it. 

“I had a contract in place, so I just didn’t feel like I had to rush. It was just like I would do when I’m ready and when we are ready. Eventually when we sat down at home we got through it real quick.”

When asked if he felt it would be his last Mercedes contract, Hamilton replied: “It’s impossible to say, I think, to say where you are going to be in two years, what I will feel like in two years’ time. 

“What I can tell you is that I still feel pretty great and I wasn’t expecting to be as excited as I am now to extend. I am also very, very conscious of how long it is beyond retirement. 

“I was just sitting above here doing an interview and looking at the old part of the circuit and there are just so many great reasons to remain a part of the sport. 

“Who knows where we are going to be in two years time? I could be completely different and want completely different things to what I want now. I couldn’t tell you. At least you are stuck with me for another couple of years.”