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Lewis Hamilton holds 'positive discussions' over new Mercedes deal

:Headline: Lewis Hamilton holds 'positive discussions' over new Mercedes deal:
The world champion's current deal runs out at the end of the season.
Sports Mole

Lewis Hamilton said he has started positive discussions with Mercedes over a new contract – and has called on his team to keep Valtteri Bottas instead of hiring George Russell.

Hamilton, 36, agreed only a one-year deal with the Silver Arrows in February, just six weeks before the start of his championship defence.

The length of his contract extension raised the prospect that he could retire at the end of the season.

However, the seven-time world champion has since claimed he wants a fresh deal in place by the summer break in August.

And speaking ahead of this weekend's Styrian Grand Prix in Austria, Hamilton said:  "We have begun discussions. I don't want to say too much, but the discussions are positive."

With Hamilton signalling his desire to stay, the identity of his Mercedes team-mate for 2022 remains in the balance.

Bottas has endured a poor start to his season – already 72 points behind leader Max Verstappen in the standings – with Russell, a Mercedes junior driver, continuing to impress in his uncompetitive Williams.

Russell excelled as a stand-in for a Covid-hit Hamilton at last year's Sakhir GP. The British driver, 23, was denied victory by a poor Mercedes pit stop and then a late puncture.

But Hamilton added: "Valtteri is my team-mate now. Both of us have had ups and downs in our careers.

"He is a fantastic team-mate and I don't necessarily see that it needs to change. "

Asked to comment on Russell as a future partner at Mercedes, a defensive Hamilton said: "Well, he's not my team-mate, so I don't need to say anything on that."

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
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