Mercedes have refused to confirm or deny reports that Lewis Hamilton won’t be signing a new contract with the Silver Arrows before August.
Sources told London Insider this week that the Briton has decided to delay a decision on his future until August, as he wants to see how well Mercedes are able to develop their W14 and catch Red Bull.
This publication approached Mercedes for comment on this, but they refused to indicate when Hamilton might sign an extension with the team.
The same sources exclusively told London Insider in January that Hamilton wouldn’t be signing a contract extension with Mercedes before the season opener in Bahrain, at the very earliest.
Over two months later, Hamilton still hasn’t put pen to paper, despite him and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insisting that a new contract would be agreed over the winter break.
His contract will expire at the end of 2023, and he will enter 2024 as a free agent unless he agrees a new Mercedes deal relatively soon.
Back in February, Hamilton denied that Mercedes had anything to “prove” to him with regards to the competitiveness of their W14, as he goes after his elusive eighth world championship.
“For the team, no, I don’t feel like I need them to prove [anything] to me. I think we’ve proved time and time again over the years that we have strength in depth,” he said.
“We still have all these incredibly talented individuals within the team. As I said, you don’t lose that ability. We’re continuing to try to improve our processes, we’re continuing to try to be smarter in how we approach things, and with our communication.
“I think there’s the best harmony within the team that I’ve seen in all these years. We’ve got a real, fresh young group of engineers and people that have just come into the team over the past year as well, so it’s an exciting time for the team, and I don’t plan on being anywhere else.”