F1 News
'Mercedes may not be fully in support of Hamilton's politics'
- GPblog.com
It is almost February and Lewis Hamilton has still not signed a new contract with Mercedes. Renowned motorsport journalist Joe Saward has no doubt that this will happen, but wonders why it is taking so long. In any case, it is not about money.
“It’s completely unthinkable that Lewis Hamilton is going to say: ‘I’m not doing this anymore’. He’s equalled Michael Schumacher’s record, he can beat it this year. Why in the name of god would Lewis Hamilton walk out over a question of money. The last thing Lewis Hamilton needs is any more money," Saward said in the Missed Apex Podcast.
“If it is a money problem anyway. Mercedes-Benz could say: ‘Look, this is how much we could pay and we’ll use personal sponsors to make up the difference. That’s clearly not the issue." It also has nothing to do with status within the team, according to Saward, as Hamilton simply remains the obvious number one. So what is it?
Hamilton the politician
"I don’t know, lifelong ambassadorships with Mercedes or something like that might be part of it. It might be that, while Mercedes is broadly in support of Lewis’ political views, there are some things they're not fully in support of. Maybe they just want to have a discussion about how far it should go."
If there is indeed a political reason for this delay, Saward still thinks Hamilton will be in the car in 2021. Outside the car he has much less 'power'. "Lewis’position as a political force evaporates with the drive. If he wants to change the world, he needs to stay in Formula 1," Saward concludes.