Lewis Hamilton is close to agreeing a new three-year contract with Mercedes, according to reports.

The current world champion is out of contract at the end of this year, but both parties have been keen to strike an agreement for some time and it appears that it may finally be announced.

The Guardian reports that Hamilton will sign a new £60m deal, and that it will be done and dusted by the time the cars line up in Australia for the new season's opening race next month.

Mercedes's non-executive chairman, Niki Lauda, said: "There is no problem with the contract. He wants to sign it. We want him to sign it. There is no rush. We just need to find a time to do it and then all the speculation can go away."

The 30-year-old joined the team in 2013 from McLaren.