Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton expected to sign new contract with Mercedes

By Asher Fair | Jun 28, 2018

LE CASTELLET, FRANCE - JUNE 24: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /

Four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is expected to sign a new contract to remain with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.

After several months of waiting and speculation regarding the future of four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, the 33-year-old Briton is expected to sign a new contract to remain with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport through at least the 2020 season.

Hamilton is expected to sign this new contract before the British Grand Prix, his home race, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 8 at Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone (part Northamptonshire and part Buckinghamshire), England, United Kingdom.

Hamilton is currently driving for Mercedes on the final season of his three-year contract, which was worth roughly $150 million, that he signed in May of 2015. He has driven for the team since the 2013 season after spending his first six seasons in Formula 1 driving for McLaren in a Mercedes-powered car.

Of the 20 active Formula 1 drivers, there are 18 whose current contracts expire at the of this season, and Hamilton is one of those 18. The two active drivers whose contract extend beyond the conclusion of this season are Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.

More from Formula One

Both Vettel and Verstappen signed contracts last season to remain with their respective teams through the 2020 season, which is what Hamilton is expected to do at the very least in the coming days.

Hamilton, who is currently driving in his 12th Formula 1 season and his sixth season as a driver for Mercedes, has already had one of the greatest Formula 1 careers in the history of the sport. He has won 65 races, a total that ranks second on the all-time wins list behind only the win total of the great Michael Schumacher, which is 91.

Hamilton has also won four Formula 1 championships, which is tied with Vettel and Alain Prost for the third most of all-time behind only the championship totals of Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio, which are seven and five, respectively.

With Hamilton and Vettel sitting in first and second place, respectively, in the driver standings with eight of the 2018 season’s 21 races in the books, it is likely that one of them will tie Fangio for second on the all-time titles list by the time the season concludes. Hamilton currently has a 14-point lead (145 to 131) over Vettel in the standings.

Here is what Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff had to say about Hamilton’s contract, which is expected to be worth roughly $50 million per year once again, according to The Telegraph.

"“We don’t want to drag it out much longer. I expect it to be done very, very soon. Maybe it is about choosing the right moment.”"

The contract of the other Mercedes driver, Valtteri Bottas, also expires at the end of this season. It is likely that he will return to the team in the 2019 season, but it has not yet been confirmed.

Next: Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time

Are you surprised to hear that Lewis Hamilton is expected to sign a new contract to remain with Mercedes through at least the 2020 Formula 1 season in the near future? Will his new contract end up being for more than two seasons? When will he officially sign it?

Home/Formula One