SM
Watford vs. Oxford Utd: 3 hrs 17 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Toto Wolff hopes Lewis Hamilton will remain with Mercedes beyond this season

:Headline: Toto Wolff hopes Lewis Hamilton will remain with Mercedes beyond this season:
The 36-year-old signed a one-year extension to his contract during the winter break.
Sports Mole

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he hopes Lewis Hamilton will stay with the Silver Arrows beyond the end of this season.

Hamilton is gearing up for his assault on an eighth world championship at this weekend's Formula One curtain raiser in Bahrain.

The 36-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season after he signed only a one-year extension with Mercedes during the winter break.

The shortness of the deal raised the prospect that this could be the British driver's 15th and final campaign on the grid.

“We don't want to leave it until February again to confirm our two drivers”
- Toto Wolff

But on the eve of his title defence, Hamilton said he has no plans to stop.

Asked if Hamilton will be in a Mercedes car next year, team principal Wolff said: "I hope so. The journey that we have had together has been very successful.

"He has been a Mercedes driver since his go-karting years and he has never raced a single weekend in Formula One without a Mercedes engine, so it is the logical continuation of the story.

"We don't want to leave it until February again to confirm our two drivers. Valtteri [Bottas] signed last summer, and this is the time when it should happen.  It allows the driver to concentrate on the job.

"There are lots of balls in the air and we are always trying to do the best for the team in the long-term, while being loyal to our current driver line-up. Discussions are going to happen, but not in January."

Hamilton will be 37 next year and Wolff has more than one eye on the future. Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Williams' George Russell (both 23) are on his radar.

Williams' George Russell impressed as Lewis Hamilton's stand-in at the Sakhir Grand Prix in December.

Russell, a Mercedes junior driver, impressed as Hamilton's stand-in at last December's Sakhir Grand Prix after the world champion was sidelined with coronavirus.

And McLaren boss Zak Brown believes there is a strong chance that both Verstappen and Russell could occupy the Mercedes seats in 2022.

"George is out of contract this year and he obviously has a relationship with Mercedes," said Brown. "He did a great job here in Bahrain last year.

"I've never seen Max's contract but I understand that there's probably a possibility for him to drive elsewhere next year.

"Mercedes and Toto are able to attract an awesome driver line-up so if those two guys are floating around, depending on what Toto decides with this current driver line-up, you could see it happening."

body check tags ::

amp_article__440766 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-03-26 16:43:06:
html db last update - 2021-03-26 16:43:06 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Lewis Hamilton

Click here for more stories about Mercedes

Share this article now:
MD
Read Next:
No Hamilton talks since replacement drive - Russell
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Lewis Hamilton George Russell Max Verstappen Toto Wolff Formula 1
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
No Hamilton talks since replacement drive - Russell
"Of course" - Van Nistelrooy makes huge managerial claim ahead of Amorim move

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Preview: Real Sociedad vs. Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

1

PR

Preview: Nott'm Forest vs. Newcastle - prediction, team news, lineups

2

PN

Man Utd vs. Leicester: Head-to-head record and past meetings

NEW

3

MU

Preview: Man Utd vs. Leicester - prediction, team news, lineups

4

PM

Preview: Chelsea vs. Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

5

PC

Preview: Spurs vs. Ipswich - prediction, team news, lineups

6

PS

Preview: Mallorca vs. Atletico - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PM

Will Palmer return? Chelsea injury, suspension list vs. Arsenal

8

WP

Preview: Roma vs. Bologna - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PR

Preview: Leganes vs. Sevilla - prediction, team news, lineups

10

PL


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .