Lewis Hamilton says he has not been in talks with Ferrari and he and Mercedes are near agreeing a brand new contract to maintain him on the workforce past this season.
Hamilton’s cope with the Silver Arrows runs out on the finish of this season.
He stated he had a workforce working with Mercedes workforce principal Toto Wolff on the brand new contract.
This week, there have been stories that Ferrari had contacted Hamilton about him switching to the Italian workforce.
Hamilton stated Mercedes’ struggles to be aggressive since 2022 “do not have a bearing” on him wanting to remain.
He added: “That is the primary time I’ve not been negotiating myself and I’ve an important workforce within the background doing all of the work and I can give attention to the job. I say what I need and that is what we’re working in direction of.”
However each the seven-time champion and the Italian workforce denied that was the case as F1 gathered in Monaco for this weekend’s grand prix.
“Naturally, when you find yourself in contract negations, there’s all the time going to be hypothesis and until you hear it from me, that is what it’s,” Hamilton stated.
“Perhaps with the race (in Imola final weekend) being cancelled, they only received bored.
“My workforce is working intently behind the scenes with Toto and we’re virtually on the level of getting a contract prepared. It’s rather more stress-free now as a result of earlier than I used to be doing it myself.”
Requested instantly whether or not Ferrari had been in contact, Hamilton stated: “No.”
Ferrari workforce principal Frederic Vasseur stated: “You already know completely that at this stage of the season every week you’ll have a special story and we aren’t sending a suggestion to Lewis Hamilton. We did not do it.
“We did not have discussions. I believe each single workforce on the grid want to have Hamilton at one stage – it might be garbage to not say one thing like this.”
Vasseur stated it was too early for Ferrari to start out negotiating with their drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz over their futures. Each are contracted till the top of 2024.
“An important (factor) for us is to remain targeted on the event within the present season,” Vasseur stated.
“In a few months, we’ll have the slot to debate in regards to the future.
“We agreed that we’ll focus on in regards to the contracts in a while and I do not need to change as a result of we had rumours from somebody that Lewis may come or Charles may go or Carlos may go. We’re coping with our jobs internally and I’ll keep targeted on the plan.”
Drivers on Mercedes improve
Hamilton stated he was wanting ahead to making an attempt the upgraded automobile Mercedes have dropped at Monaco, which is step one in a growth plan kicked off when Wolff admitted on the first race of the season that the workforce had made a mistake in pursuing their distinctive automobile idea.
The Mercedes design revised sidepods, ground and entrance suspension, and it’s in the same vein to that pioneered by Purple Bull when F1’s new guidelines had been launched in 2022.
Features of the design additionally bear similarities to the Aston Martin, which has been the shock of the season in 2023.
“It is going to be attention-grabbing to see the way it works,” Hamilton stated. “I do not suppose we can be preventing for a win however hopefully we can be extra within the struggle.
We’re nonetheless a championship-winning workforce however we’ve had the unsuitable automobile and a few selections which have been made aren’t superb.”
Workforce-mate George Russell stated Mercedes wouldn’t draw any conclusions in regards to the efficiency of the improve this weekend due to the individuality of the tight and twisty Monaco circuit.
Russell stated: “We’re conscious this can be a very one-of-a-kind circuit and we aren’t going to learn something into the efficiency that the brand new updates present this weekend.
“There are all the time outliers in groups who over carry out round tracks like Monaco and groups that underperform. However finally we do not design a automobile to be at its peak in Monaco.
“I belief within the workforce and I do not suppose there can be something scary with the improve that throws us off-piste.
“We are going to deal with it as a one-of-a-kind after which re-evaluate in Barcelona (the next weekend).
“I’m glad we’re continuing with it since you all the time need to put as a lot efficiency on the automobile as potential and it might have been a demoralising weekend for all of us had we identified we had a little bit of efficiency on the desk.”
