Hamilton in $40m stand-off with Mercedes (4th Update)
05/20/15 Lewis Hamilton's new deal with Mercedes is "planned for this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, ending months of speculation," according to Daniel Johnson of the London TELEGRAPH. Hamilton and Mercedes have become "increasingly frustrated with questions over the status of negotiations," so they will be "relieved to draw a line under the episode."
 |
| Hamilton will be paid $18M per year less than Vettel |
05/12/15 Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who has previously said that a new deal with the team was "99.6 percent done," only to see talks drag on for longer than anticipated, is finally set to agree to a $188M contract, according to Dan Quarrell of EUROSPORT.
The double world champion is set to pocket $62M-a-year "as part of the new deal and will sign it before the start of the Monaco Grand Prix." Hamilton "is set to become the 2nd highest paid driver on the grid, alongside Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (who has a 3-year contract that pays $80M per year for a total of $240M)." Hamilton said after the Spanish Grand Prix, "I will have some news for you in Monaco." EUROSPORT
05/10/15 Rumor has it that Hamilton is demanding 200million euros – £145m at the current exchange rate – over three years, a figure that would put him on a par with Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull as the highest-paid driver on the grid.
But the Mercedes board at Stuttgart are believed to be unwilling to rip up their entire pay structure to accommodate the world champion.
It is also understood that Hamilton has requested to keep all his trophies and his winning car – a further demand that his German bosses may not be ready to accede to.
Officially, both Mercedes and Hamilton are saying everything is fine and that the deal will be clinched. It may well be in the end, but why, if everything has already been ironed out, has he yet to commit his future to the team after months of negotiations?
Hamilton is negotiating his new terms with the help of his lawyer, Sue Thackeray, perhaps the most trusted lieutenant in the Hamilton circle, having worked with both Lewis and his father Anthony for many years.
 |
| If he gets a $40 million per year deal with Mercedes, that will put him well short of what Ferrari is paying Vettel and that has to eat at Hamilton |
05/09/15 Lewis Hamilton is in the final term of a three-year deal with Mercedes and has been negotiating a new $40m deal for months. It is understood he has asked to speak to F1 chief executive Ecclestone about his future.
In early April, Hamilton said the contract was “99.6 per cent complete" and he was confident it would be signed before the Chinese Grand Prix.
But with speculation still strong that a seat with Ferrari next season would be perfect for F1 and would make Hamilton arguably the most marketable sportsman in the world, Mercedes chief Niki Lauda confirmed that the deal has moved no further forwards.
He said: "There is no hitch, there is a delay but I can’t say any more." It is the first time anyone from Mercedes has confirmed that there is any sort of official hold-up on the deal.
When asked what this meant for Hamilton’s future, with rumored interest from Ferrari, Ecclestone said: “Lewis will be in the right place next season.
"He wouldn’t have a problem with it [racing for Ferrari] but I don’t think Sebastian Vettel would like it."
Hamilton said it was pointless asking questions about it, before adding: "You should really ask Toto Wolff [Mercedes team principal].
"The contract is not far away. Niki Lauda has said perhaps before the next race [in Monaco on May 24]. It’s literally just formality stuff."
Since Hamilton hastily put that deadline on the deal and with no specifics on the finer details that are causing the contract to remain unsigned, questions remain inevitable.
Ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix here, when asked if the lingering lure of Ferrari worried him, Wolff said: "Lewis is a rock-star driver and every team would like him, but I am OK. I have been doing contracts all my life and you want to get things right. Long-term contracts need proper execution. Lewis did the contract negotiations himself and we want him to be impatient because that makes him drive fast.
“But then it needs to be done properly and it is being done properly." Hamilton enjoyed a dominant second practice ahead of Sunday’s race.
He narrowly lost out to Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in yesterday’s first session but hit back in the afternoon.
Hamilton was over four-tenths of a second quicker than the Ferrari of Vettel, who beat Rosberg into third place. Daily Express