Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton’s contract: “We had already agreed on the main lines in June and July.”
The boss of the Mercedes team had the pleasure of re-signing his two drivers recently, including Lewis Hamilton, whose contract confirmation took some time to arrive.
It was the big news leading up to last week’s Italian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton will indeed continue to race for Mercedes for the next two years. While this signing did not surprise observers, it took a while to materialize.
After the Monza weekend where his “Silver Arrows” finished in 5th and 6th places, the Team Principal of the German team commented on it. « It was mostly marketing-related questions, less important topics. We put lawyers on the case and they find things like poorly-written letters, etc…», explains the Austrian. « It took some time, as sometimes we have to play ping-pong with the lawyers. Of course, I am quite skilled at that. »
« No approach for other drivers »
Thanks to this new contract, Sir Lewis should receive a record salary. To those who claim that it was more difficult to reach an agreement this time, Wolff responded clearly. « That is absolutely not the case. […] The issue dragged on for some time and, of course, the summer break came in between. »
Interviewed by Sky Sports in Monza, he also assured that he had not attempted to approach other drivers such as Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen, as he did not wish to flirt.
