Hamilton agrees £40million-a-year Mercedes contract
Lewis Hamilton has agreed a new £40million-a-year deal with Mercedes, which will cement his status as not only the best paid driver in Formula One, but as the top earning British sports star.
Hamilton fresh off his third win of the season in France, appears to have worked his way through any contractual issues with the Silver Arrows, the team most likely to make the official announcement ahead of the British Grand Prix on July 8.
With the sport looking to redraft the regulations ahead of the 2021, the deal will only cover the 2019 and 2020 seasons, however one expects that Hamilton, which at the time will be 36-years-of-age, could end his career once this latest deal comes to an end or shift over to Ferrari, a move that he has spoken about in the past.
Hamilton joined Mercedes back in 2013, after a successful six-year period with McLaren that saw him win the 2008 World Championship. Although since the switch, Hamilton’s career has moved to a different level, the team providing him with a package that has seen him win 44-races and another three World Champions over the last five-and-a-half seasons, the Brit currently top of the standings after round 8 and gunning for a fourth title with the team.
@Spacesuit_Media @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/ehr66gEXwb
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 24, 2018
The deal will see him edge ahead of Sebastian Vettel who is on £38m-a-year with Ferrari, and increase of £8m-a-year from £32m he is currently on.
His status of Britain’s best paid athlete will also remain intact ahead of Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua and Real Madrid striker Gareth Bale.
Hamilton’s earning potential doesn’t stop there as the Brit continues to negotiate his own agreements with the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Monster Energy and Puma.
The news will come as a relief to Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda with the team locked in one of the most intense Formula One seasons in many years. Adding to this with three consecutive races in France (which Hamilton just won), Austria and Britain Hamilton and Mercedes can focus on accumulating as many points over this period and gain the initiative in both the Constructors and Driver Championship standings.
