Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton tipped to return to Mercedes in 2021

Lewis Hamilton has been tipped to return to Mercedes for the 2021 Formula 1 season amid speculation that he could leave the team for Ferrari.

While the ink has not yet met the paper, the Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari rumors can pretty much be put to bed.

Despite mounting speculation that the six-time Formula 1 world champion would leave Mercedes after the 2020 season to join the Italian team in place of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton has been tipped to return to the team in 2021.

The source?

Hamilton himself.

Recent reports suggested that Hamilton and Mercedes were nearing a two-year agreement, but new reports followed that up stating that there could be a conflict between the two parties regarding salary and contract length.

Hamilton responded to those reports in a now-deleted Instagram post by stating that contract negotiations had not even begun for 2021, calling out news outlets for “making up stories”.

Now the 35-year-old Briton has gone on record and stated that he does not see the 2021 grid changing much as far as top teams Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing are concerned, even though four of the six seats at these three teams remain unconfirmed beyond the conclusion of the 2020 season.

Here is what Hamilton had to say about the matter last month, according to Sky Sports.

"“In the top teams there isn’t going to be a lot of movement, most likely. In the ones cascading down I’m not too sure what everyone’s contracts are – but I don’t think there’s going to be a huge amount of movement. I think just get used to what’s similar at the moment. I don’t know what Seb [Vettel]’s plan is for the future, but…”"

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This news comes amid reports that Ferrari would like to bring back Sebastian Vettel for the 2021 season, which would prevent a potentially big shakeup throughout the rest of the grid with so many drivers having been rumored to land in his seat, which has quickly become the hottest seat on the grid.

Vettel’s current contract, which was extended by three years back in August of 2017, is set to expire at the end of the 2020 season, and there have been rumors that Ferrari will move on from him in 2021 given his mounting struggles in recent years.

Hamilton had been rumored as a possible Ferrari driver for the 2021 season after he had informal talks with the team toward the end of the 2020 season; one source even stated that a move to the team was “certain”.

But Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto recently stated that Hamilton, who has driven for Mercedes since 2013, is not a priority and that they would like to keep things simple by retaining Vettel. Here is what he had to say in regard to the possibility of signing Hamilton, according to Sky Sports.

"“We are not considering that [signing Lewis Hamilton] at the moment. We are focused only on our drivers.”"

Ferrari have already signed Charles Leclerc through the 2024 season, and Red Bull Racing have signed Max Verstappen through the 2023 season and indicated that they do not intend to look outside the current pool of Red Bull drivers in the near future to fill their second seat.

Alexander Albon is slated to drive alongside Verstappen full-time in 2020 after replacing Pierre Gasly at Red Bull Racing following the first 12 races of the 21-race 2019 season, his rookie season.

Gasly remained within the Red Bull organization, as he was brought back to Scuderia Toro Rosso (now Scuderia AlphaTauri), where he spent his rookie year in 2018, to replace Albon. He is slated to drive for the team again in 2020 alongside Daniil Kvyat.

As for Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas, like Hamilton, is under contract through only the 2020 season. Bottas signed a fourth consecutive one-year deal in August of 2019 while Hamilton extended his contract by two years back in July of 2018.

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When the 2021 Formula 1 season rolls around, will the driver lineups at Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing look the same as they do now? If not, who will leave which team(s) and who will fill in?

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