Formula 1: Complications between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes?

Have complications arisen between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes regarding a contract extension for beyond the 2020 Formula 1 season?

Throughout much of the offseason between the 2019 and 2020 Formula 1 seasons, the key rumor that everybody has been pondering has to do with six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton potentially leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari after the 2020 season.

Hamilton has driven for Mercedes since the 2013 season, but the two-year contract extension he signed back in July of 2018 is set to expire at the end of the year.

He is one of five drivers in Formula 1 history to win at least four world championships, and is he the only one of them who has never driven for Ferrari, the sport’s all-time most successful team with 16 constructor titles and 15 driver titles.

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Ferrari have not won a constructor title since the 2008 season, and they haven’t won a driver title since the season prior, so Hamilton potentially entering the 2021 season as a seven-time champion and winning what would be a record eighth title to bring championship glory back to Maranello is a possibility.

However, it was revealed a few weeks ago that the 35-year-old Briton is now poised to end these rumors early.

After Ferrari re-signed Charles Leclerc through the 2024 season, effectively committing to him as their number one driver for the foreseeable future, and Red Bull Racing re-signed Max Verstappen, who was thought to be a potential replacement for Hamilton after the 2020 season, through the 2023 season, a rumor emerged that Hamilton and Mercedes were working on another two-year extension.

Nothing has been confirmed quite yet, but a report has emerged stating that there are now complications between the Silver Arrows and the driver who has won five of the last six titles for the team since the V6 turbo hybrid era began back in the 2014 season.

According to Il Correre dello Sport, Mercedes and Hamilton are not seeing eye-to-eye on his annual salary and the duration of his new contract. Hamilton is already the highest paid driver in Formula 1 at roughly $57 million per year, and a new two-year deal would make sense since that it what he signed two summers ago.

Hamilton is reportedly seeking $60 million per year, and amid the recently signed extensions by Leclerc and Verstappen, he is seeking to sign a longer deal.

But new Daimler boss Ola Kallenius is reportedly looking to make signification cost reductions by the 2022 season. With that being said, Liberty Media’s new rules and regulations, aimed at making the sport more competitive, should aid in that matter, as these new rules and regulations include a $175 million budget cap, one that notably does not include driver salaries.

As a result, it is unlike that such complications will amount to anything along the lines of Hamilton not returning to the team for at least another two seasons. Additionally, team principal and CEO Toto Wolff has stated that retaining Hamilton is a priority, provided Mercedes continue on in Formula 1 beyond 2020, so taking his terms into consideration almost seems like a sure thing.

But a day and age when rumors abound and sometimes never end up being confirmed, it is well worth nothing that Hamilton still is not officially under contract with the Brackley-based team for beyond 2020 despite previous reports.

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Will Lewis Hamilton end up re-signing with Mercedes for the 2021 and 2022 Formula 1 seasons as expected, or will these complications result in him having to look elsewhere for a ride and Mercedes having to look elsewhere for a driver or possibly even leaving Formula 1 as a constructor, another rumor that has been floated over the last few months?

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