Hamilton: New Mercedes contract almost ready

MONACO — Lewis Hamilton said he expects to have a new Mercedes contract signed in the coming weeks while denying rumours he has been approached by Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion’s Mercedes deal is due to expire at the end of this year, but he has expressed his desire to remain at the team for multiple seasons beyond 2023.

Talks have been underway for some time with team principal Toto Wolff, although Hamilton has handed over negotiations to his management team to get the deal across the line.

Earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported that Ferrari was preparing to offer Hamilton a contract for 2024, but both the Italian team and Hamilton denied the news on Thursday.

“I think, naturally, when you are in contact negotiations there is always going to be speculation,” Hamilton said during a news conference ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. “But unless you hear it from me, that’s all it is.

“There is a certain individual in this room that has written at least one of them [the Ferrari stories]. I don’t know, maybe with last weekend and the [Imola] race being cancelled they just got bored.

“But my team is working closely behind the scenes with Toto and we are almost at the point of having the contract ready. I’m having the team focused on that so I can just do my job.

“It’s a much better position than I used to be in before, because I used to do the negotiations on my own and it was very stressful. I don’t have to do that anymore.”

Asked when the deal would be ready, Hamilton added: “Hopefully in the coming weeks.”