Lewis Hamilton only has a few weeks left to sit down with team principal Toto Wolff to agree on a new mega-money deal that will expand his involvement in Formula 1.
Hamilton is one of the last drivers on the grid to fail to set his F1 plans for 2021 in stone after following his seventh World Championships, held in Turkey over the weekend.
The Brit has kept Mercedes waiting for contract negotiations – which usually finish by September – and fueled speculation earlier in the year that he might be ready to end them.
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But with a record world title in his sights and its F1 platform promoting equality, Hamilton feels “just getting started”.
“I would like to stay,” said Hamilton. “I have a feeling that we have a lot to do here. You know we have only just started.
“I want to work to ensure that we hold ourselves accountable as a sport and recognize that we have to face human rights problems in the countries we go to and not ignore them.”
He added that he also wants to help make the sport more sustainable.
“I want to try to see if I can be part of it a little longer, at least in the early stages,” he said.
To this end, he will finally sit down with Mercedes in the coming days to negotiate a deal that will satisfy both parties.
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Already £ 40m per year (AUD 72.2m), SunSport reports that due to cost reductions and the F1 cost cap introduced next year, Hamilton may agree to the same annual salary.
The publication reports that the deal is expected to be valued at £ 120 million (A $ 216.6 million) over a three-year period, bringing Hamilton within days of his 39th birthday.
Wolff, whose own future at Mercedes has yet to be determined, said on Monday that contract negotiations will begin this week.
“We’ll give it a few days, then we’ll talk about it,” he told BBC Sport.
“Our relationship goes far beyond business; it’s about friendship, about trust.
“That one day of negotiation is something we don’t enjoy because it’s the only time we don’t have common goals. The best offer is one that both parties are not entirely satisfied with. “
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