Lewis Hamilton F1 contract discussions have not yet begun, claims Mercedes boss Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton's F1 contract discussions have not even begun as his last season on the current contract is knocking on the door.

In a recently released report by Sportune, it was claimed that Lewis Hamilton's contract was all but done in what was going to be a record deal lasting 10 years.

The Mercedes driver was reportedly going to sign a two-year extension and then a brand ambassador role with the team for the remaining years.

However, according to a recent report released by formu1a.uno, the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes contract extension talks have not even begun. As reported, a Mercedes spokesperson echoed what Toto Wolff had earlier stated that there had been no contract discussions between Hamilton and the team, the spokesperson said:

“Obviously, winter doesn't stop the rumours, and it's been fun to read speculation about contract discussions when they haven't started yet!"

"The rumors appear to have started on a French blog, Sportune, with which we are not related – and they are quite wild in terms of what they suggest! Toto said on Friday that the discussions have not started yet, and this is exactly the situation, so hopefully that puts the speculation in context."

Talking about the current status of the latest Mercedes challenger that would be driven by Lewis Hamilton, the spokesperson said:

"The engineers led by James Allison and Mike Elliott are engaged in the last FIA homologation tests."

"Meanwhile, the construction phase of the first chassis and development tests on the car's subsystems are underway plus, of course, the 2023 Power Unit which has been fine-tuned , has carried out the rung tests and has been approved to be able to deliver the engines that they will be used during testing in Bahrain.”

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Trouble in paradise in the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes marriage?

It should be a bit alarming that Mercedes have not even begun contract negotiations. The Briton is in his last season on his current contract and more often than not, a Lewis Hamilton contract involves a lot of back and forth.

If that is the case, wouldn't it make sense to discuss all of this during the winter break and not let it be a distraction when the season begins and a potential world championship is on the line? This is something that should have been taken care of much earlier, but Mercedes have let this situation continue to get dragged on.

This should raise the question of why this has not happened and why there is a delay. Is everything fine between the two entities or is there some trouble in paradise? It would be worth keeping an eye on what happens next in the contract saga.