“Now it’s the hot phase,” Lewis Hamilton said of his new contract deal with Mercedes, which would see him suffer a £10 million pay cut.

To stay with Mercedes for another year, Lewis Hamilton must sign a new contract extension, which he did last year after a long delay.

According to a recent report from the Sun, the British driver will have to accept a £10 million wage reduction to persuade Mercedes to extend his contract for another year. According to the source, the parties’ talks have started on a positive note.

The Mercedes driver currently earns roughly £40 million per year with the Brackley-based team after signing a contract earlier this year that will shortly expire.

Mercedes, on the other hand, is rumored to be intending to implant George Russell into the Mercedes system in 2022, and the axe is presently on Valtteri Bottas’ neck, rather than Hamilton’s, which takes away Hamilton’s bargaining power.

It’s the hot phase

Meanwhile, Toto Wolff, the CEO of Mercedes, has spoken about Hamilton’s contract extension, claiming that, unlike last year, he wants to finish it up sooner. It’s the “hot phase” of the negotiations, he says.

“We have such a tight friendship, and we chat to each other again and again when traveling or off the racetrack,” the Austrian added, as quoted by The Sun. Of course, there’s also the question of what a long-term arrangement may look like.

“If I were to say that the contract has already been signed, that would not be correct. But we are beyond the status of exploratory talks. Now it’s the hot phase.”

“I think we are way closer to an agreement than a separation. Because we also agreed that it is better not to negotiate until February, as was the case this year.”

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