Speculation regarding Lewis Hamilton’s future at Mercedes has been rampant among the F1 community, with prominent personalities like David Coulthard and Lawrence Baretto weighing in with their take on the matter.
While some reports tie Lewis to a possible Ferrari move, others claim that the contract extension at Mercedes is done and dusted and is simply pending announcement. Recently, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has spoken on the matter.
Fred Vasseur denies Ferrari’s pursuit of Lewis Hamilton
Over the past few weeks, multiple reports had sprung up making the claim that Lewis Hamilton was offered a seat at Ferrari personally by Ferrari president John Elkann himself. Other reports add to this, claiming Lewis politely declined this alleged offer.
However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur recently claimed that the team never made a ‘poaching attempt’ at the 7-time world champion. Speaking to PlanetF1, he said: “Well, I think it is the same situation with Lewis that it has been for the last 10 years. They are in discussion and I don’t know whether there is an issue or not.”
Continuing, he added “Honestly, I’m not focused at all on this. I’m focused on the development of the team and the discussion is between Lewis and Toto and not myself.”
The public stance both Mercedes and Ferrari have taken is the denial of any rumors of Lewis donning red from the 2024 season.
How much is Hamilton’s Mercedes contract?
As it currently, stands Lewis’ contract with Mercedes is worth a whopping $35 million. This ranks him as the third highest-paid driver on the grid, with Charles Leclerc’s salary recently being increased to $36 million.
Unsurprisingly, Verstappen’s contract is valued far above the rest of the grid with a $55 million salary, and that’s not including incentives for race wins or championships.
Hamilton’s recent inability to fight for the championship is actually costing him a lot of money in terms of incentives. It has been reported that in 2021, the British racing legend was denied a bonus of around $19 million!
Nevertheless, his net worth has stood barely affected due to his alternate sources of revenue such as his fashion line with Tommy Hilfiger, his affiliation with the music industry, and the assets he has accumulated over the years.
The value of his alleged new contract extension is not known as of now, but rumours speculate a huge raise!
Do you believe Vasseur’s denial of the offer to Lewis being made? Comment what you think down below!
