After dragging on for months, Mercedes have finally confirmed that Lewis Hamilton has signed a new deal with the team.
The 30-year-old Briton who has won the Formula One World Championship on two occasions, has agreed a three-year contract.
The reigning 2014 Formula One title holder was set to see his contract expire with Mercedes at the end-of-the-season, which pushed the rumour mill towards an unlikely Ferrari switch the longer the protracted contract talks took to resolve.
But finally ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes have announced that a deal has now been finalised.
‘We have taken the right amount of time with the process and not rushed ourselves. The result is a strong agreement that will enhance Lewis’ association with the Mercedes-Benz brand, and that recognises and respects the market value of Lewis and of Mercedes in Formula 1. Lewis’ sporting track record speaks for itself and he is a great personality for the company. Personally, I am looking forward to continuing to race with the strongest driver pairing in Formula 1 and to more historic achievements together.’ Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said in a statement.
His basic salary is according to the BBC is reportedly set to be £20.9million, but could rise to around £27million-a-year depending on various performance related bonuses.
However Sky Sports have reported the value of Hamilton’s deal to in the region of £100million over the course of the three-year-deal.
His new contract puts him on a par with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Mercedes finally confirm new Hamilton deal
