Lewis Hamilton’s future at Mercedes has been the primary topic of conversation amongst prominent names in the F1 community, including David Coulthard and Lawrence Baretto.
With allegations of a possible move to Ferrari, team principal of Ferrari Fred Vasseur recently weighed in with his take on Lewis’ future, denying any possibility of Lewis occupying a Ferrari seat.
Fred Vasseur rejects Ferrari’s interest to acquire Lewis Hamilton
In four months’ time, Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes will end, and the 7-time world champion will officially be a free agent for 2023.
There have been multiple rumors regarding his future at Mercedes, with Toto claiming that the contract is almost done and dusted. However, rumors have also surfaced of Lewis possibly moving to Ferrari following an offer from John Elkann himself.
On this, Fred Vasseur has recently shed light on the matter. Denying any possibility of a Ferrari offer being made or a seat being left open for Lewis at Ferrari, he added, “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. 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.”
As per his statement, he means to express that whatever is holding up the contract extension at Mercedes, it’s not a Ferrari offer. So what could be the hold-up?
Lewis Hamilton to become free agent in 2024 without Mercedes contract
Lewis Hamilton currently earns $35 million for his contract with Mercedes, which ends after 2023. What this means is that he is not under contract for an F1 seat for 2024, leaving him open to offers from other teams.
There have been certain hints at an extension being signed for Lewis at Mercedes, but Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has not given any concrete information. After the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, he said, “I don’t want to give you a date. It’s lawyers speaking to lawyers, it’s no material things anymore. But you have to give it time.”
Despite this claim that nothing material was holding up the extension, however, there has been no announcement of Lewis’ future at Mercedes.
However, there have been rumors of a two-year renewal floating around social media, with some reports telling fans to expect an announcement to that effect this weekend at the Dutch GP.
Do you think we’ll finally close this matter this weekend at the Dutch GP? What could possibly be holding this up? Comment what you think down below!
