The renewal of Lewis Hamilton would be on track even if they had never sat down to negotiate.
In fact, they never do: Toto Wolff and the British driver find time between races, off the circuits and solve in an afternoon, with a
(vegan)
pizza
, the bases of a contract that will later be detailed by the lawyers.
The calendar forces us to think that the confirmation of its continuity in Formula 1 with Mercedes is imminent, there are weeks of rest between Sochi, Nurburgring and Portimao and the announcement would be a good claim for the German team in the home race.
As for the duration of the contract,
the question is whether two or three years.
The latter would reaffirm his commitment to motorsport despite his varied interests outside the circuits.
In any case, he may be the last to sign as a Formula 1 driver.
With 35 years, 260 races, 90 victories, 96 poles and 159 podiums, on the
way to seven titles, the guarantee of success that Mercedes has offered him since 2013 has overshadowed any siren song, including those of Ferrari, in recent years.
Hamilton has always driven with a Mercedes engine in his fairing, even when he was at McLaren, and the German firm does not want to lose its image, nor its legacy, letting it escape now to expand its legend with other colors.
The pilot himself has on occasion expressed his desire to transcend beyond racing with the brand.
However, Lewis has had to wait for the team's plans to be clarified in the middle of the pandemic.
In favor of the continuity of Mercedes the accounts have always been:
the team is profitable, it even has operating benefits,
and it also serves as a global advertising platform for the car manufacturer.
But in an uncertain world context, Daimler's parent company will have evaluated many scenarios for its competition programs and the expenses of another era will not be so easy to justify now.
Record wages seem from another era
That's where Hamilton's salary comes in.
According to the Daily Mail, his new contract can bring him to 130 million euros in three seasons.
However, they have already denied such high figures for months.
In the 2021 grid, with salaries adjusted to the new times, the
paid drivers, the young and deserving
(about 500,000 euros per year), the established (between 2 and 8 million euros),
the stars
(around 15 million
euros) will live together.
euros) and the British, something over 30, although the amount increases with their sponsors.
Vettel, who at Aston Martin will not see the 22 million from his last agreement for three seasons with Ferrari, will take down.
However, very diverse formulas coexist and
there are pilots who have lower fixed values and higher variables
depending on the results, race by race, from points to podiums or triumphs;
or vice versa.
The salaries of the pilots are outside the spending ceiling of each team.
