Toto Wolff has said that he is sure Lewis Hamilton will race on with Mercedes.

However, world champion Hamilton spent 2017 to-ing and fro-ing over his potential retirement plans, with his current contract set to expire after 2018.

At the end of 2016, Hamilton's then-teammate Nico Rosberg suddenly quit Formula 1, but team boss Wolff does not think the Briton will now follow suit.

"I don't think it's going to happen, but you never know," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

"We didn't expect anything like that in 2016, but then came the call from Nico."

As for Hamilton, the controversial driver clashed with the media and social media followers over Christmas, after posting a video in which he jokingly chided his nephew for wearing a "princess dress".

In response, the 32-year-old deleted most of the content from his Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Wolff said: "Right know he's in Los Angeles, which is always dangerous terrain because of all his other activities. But I expect him to be in the car next year.

"We're happy with him and he's happy with us."

The new season gets underway with the Australian Grand Prix on March 25.