[Jody Barton]

So Lewis has finally signed. But for one year, like Toto did.

Two take aways:

1) Lewis wants to keep Toto at Mercedes.

2) The 2021 driver market is going to get Hella spicy.

[forzaferrari]

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/artic...luEmb.html

[morini]

I'm not entirely surprised by this TBH. If LH get his 8th WDC I really think he might call it a day and retire. Be great for him to go out at the top rather than floundering mid pack like a lot of ex champions seem to do. Plus he has always expressed the desire to take on an ambassadorial role with Mercedes.

1 year is a good move I think.

[PapaofGags]

Personally I was hoping he would sign for two years, have a year showing George some tricks of the trade, still if this is his last year I cant complain, he's certainly delivered for us Brits.

[PapaofGags]

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has explained why they have only agreed a one-year contract extension with Lewis Hamilton.  (AutoSport)

"We jointly agreed on a one-year deal," said Wolff, Mercedes' F1 team principal and co-owner, in a virtual press conference after the deal was announced.

"First of all there is a substantial regulation change in 2022. We also want to see how the world develops, and the company.

"On the other side, because we kept it very late… it was important to get it done as soon as possible. In that respect we thought let's postpone the discussion about 2022 and onwards until a later stage in 2021"

Despite all manner of speculation in recent weeks about supposed aspects of the contract negotiations, Wolff insisted "the money topic wasn't the sticking point" and that ultimately "it was more about 'let us get going quickly for 2021'".

The Mercedes team principal also rubbished suggestions Hamilton had asked for a so-called 'Verstappen clause' - an effective veto on future team-mates beyond 2021.

Expanding on the reasons for wanting more time to talk about 2022 and beyond, Wolff said: "There are uncertainties in the world that affect the way the sport can operate that have an influence on our revenue, on TV monies, on sponsorship income.

"As long as he enjoys racing, I think he's very capable of going longer," said Wolff.
"He develops as a driver he looks after himself in terms of physical training and mental preparation, so I don't think in terms of ability that ends in 2021. But at the end it's his decision."

Wolff said they would enter into talks about 2022 "much earlier" than was the case last year. He reiterated while "Lewis needs to decide what his future holds for him", Mercedes also needed to think about their long-term driver options.

"Daimler and Mercedes are in a huge transformation towards electric mobility and that means investment, So we are living in a financial reality different from what it was a few years ago.

"But having said that, we are totally in line, Lewis and me, the wider group and Mercedes, about the situation. So there was never any discrepancy in opinion."

[morini]

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has explained why they have only agreed a one-year contract extension with Lewis Hamilton.  (AutoSport)

I was reading that myself earlier (there's also a reprint on Sky F1 website). Certainly far more believable than the random speculation I'm seeing from "expert pundits" on the tabloid clickbait sites. Anyone seen the nonsense regurgitated by Planet F1 and the other cheap sites? The comments sections on there are hilarious.

[NeilP]

I do not buy the time pressure element of the deal there has got to be more to it than that.  I heard a rumour that Forza took a private jet this weekend to meet with 'Interested' parties.  His main aim was to make sure Lewis was available for Ferrari in 2022. Like I said just a rumour right now but it made sense to me!

Perhaps more accuracy would be to question Mercedes commitment to F1. I know they signed the Concorde agreement which runs to 2025 and maybe they know they will be out at that stage. Maybe the last few years of that will be devoted to their younger drivers they manage.  Maybe Wolff is jumping to another team and maybe Hamilton wants to go with him.  Maybe Wolff is jumping to another form of racing and again Hamilton wants to follow.

There is no doubt in my mind Hamilton is not wanting to call it good regardless of what happens this coming season. The man has racing in his blood and his desire to win looks as strong as ever to me.  His other interests in life will always be there for him. His racing time is essentially limited to the next few years.

There is unquestionably a missing element to this one year deal, one the public at large are not being told.

[Antilochos]

I am not sure about Wolff his explanation. I mean, every driver every year, including Hamilton and Mercedes, had their contracts signed far earlier than this year Hamilton and Mercedes signed. There is no logic in Wolff his explanation why they should do it differently this time around (then at least a bunch of other drivers and teams would do the same).

I don't know what the real reasons are, don't care that much either to be honest. Probably Hamilton was asking more than Mercedes was willing to pay, especially since they have alternatives. On the other hand I believe that Hamilton in his mind is thinking about different things in the future. His own team he is working on for example. Maybe he likes to see how does regulation change work out and he decides to step out of F1 (at least as a driver) at the right moment (he doesn't want to start loosing if the changes don't work out well).

We might never know and why should we?