Damon Hill sheds light on “board meetings” to decide on Hamilton’s contract

Hamilton again insisted prior to this weekend’s F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone that the delay to signing a new contract is nothing to do with money disputes.

Yet, with his deal expiring at the end of this season, there is still nothing in writing to tie Hamilton to Mercedes for the long-term.

• Hamilton still has “100% faith” in Mercedes, pushing hard on 2024 F1 car

“As I understand it, the contract won’t just be a racing contract – it will be a full Mercedes ambassadorial contract,” ex-F1 champion Hill told The Independent.

“That requires a different board to sign off on it, can’t just be signed off by Toto. There’ll be some board meetings in Germany.”

Mercedes F1 is owned by three parties - Toto Wolff owns a third, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS own a third, and Daimler (who also own Mercedes-Benz) own a third.

The delay in Hamilton’s contract renewal has heightened speculation that he could jump ship.

“Any driver who doesn’t know what the options are is missing an opportunity,” Hill said.

“But would he really go to Ferrari? From a strategic point of view, it would be a huge risk to go to Ferrari. 

“Everyone would love to be in red and win, see what happened with Nigel [Mansell].

“It’s a romance really but you’ve got to be cold-blooded about it. 

“He’s not going to go to Red Bull either.”

The Daily Mail previously reported that Hamilton’s wish for a 10-year deal - that went beyond his F1 career - worth a total of £200m is the reason that a deal hasn’t yet been struck.