Contract negotiations between Hamilton and Mercedes: 'We are in talks'

With Mercedes' poorer performance, the rumour mill got under way around Hamilton's future. Martin Brundle, for instance, suggested that he does see Lewis making a move to Red Bull Racing or Ferrari to drive a better car. Hamilton himself is not at all concerned with that. He already indicated he is 100 per cent behind the Mercedes project and is also already around the table for a new contract.

Hamilton contract talks

There are no performance clauses in that contract either, Hamilton revealed to Sky Sports. ''We are in talks, just in the process of going through the motions of what that looks like, what the future looks like, what we want to do. (We are) always looking to continuously challenge ourselves rather than just doing a driver's contract like everyone does.''

In doing so, Hamilton especially hints at all the things he does besides Formula 1. He involves Mercedes in those projects and includes that in the negotiations. ''What can we do? We did the Ignite partnership last year on how we can promote diversity within the sport, just exploring different avenues and what else we can do.''

At 38, Lewis is no longer the youngest on the grid, but the ambition is still there. The performance of the current W14 has been disappointing, but the seven-time world champion is determined to clinch an eighth title. So for that, he will have to stay active in F1 for a while.