Lewis Hamilton's farcically-delayed contract negotiations were all about money.

That is the theory of former F1 driver Christijan Albers, referring to this week's announcement of a new one-year deal for the seven time world champion.

"Hamilton's demands were simply not in line with this coronavirus situation," he opined to De Telegraaf newspaper.

"You can see very easily how this one-year deal was made. The reason is simple: Lewis hopes that by the end of the year, the economic situation will begin to improve and he may be able to demand a higher salary.

"At the moment, he had to agree with Mercedes' proposal, otherwise he would simply have been left without a place in Formula 1," the Dutchman added.

Albers thinks Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will be monitoring the situation closely as negotiations kick off again in the coming months.

"Wolff is a co-owner of the team now with more shares than before which means he basically pays Hamilton out of his own pocket," he said.

"For now he is politely supporting Lewis, and they'll maybe see if he can attract new sponsors this season - if so, they can use that money to pay Hamilton more.

"But Lewis is not simply going to stop and end his career yet," Albers added.

"Although he says he loves being alone, let's be honest - he needs a show. I think, during this season, he will be exploring his options with other teams who can pay him more."