Toto Wolff said Lewis Hamilton's new contract will last many years!

• F1

Toto Wolff, team principal of Mercedes, has given a sensational update on the renewal of Lewis Hamilton. In an interview over the weekend in Austria, Wolff said the renewal will be for several years. An official statement could arrive at the Silverstone GP, even if the Austrian admitted that it is not a matter of money.

The British driver would have asked to fill the role of ambassador in Mercedes for 10 years at about 20 million dollars a year. A total of 200 million therefore Lewis's request, which would have shaken the Brackley team. According to Wolff, in fact, the delay on the official nature of the new contract of the 7-time Grand Slam champion would not depend on economic reasons, but purely on the future of Hamilton, who will probably remain linked to Mercedes even after his retirement.

Wolff said: "I'm still very confident that it will be done. We want to do it excellently and in every detail. It's not about the money. It's about the future, about what we want to do well and then optimize. We're not talking anymore about money or duration, but other subjects.

The British say a pair means two, and the Americans say a pair means a few. So it's roughly in between, several years." According to the Daily Mail, instead, money would be the main problem. Lewis Hamilton, according to rumors, would in fact want a bonus of 15 million pounds, in the event that he were to return to conquer the Formula 1 world championship.

Furthermore, the British driver is asking for a role of brand ambassador in Mercedes for ten years at the end of his racing career for an impressive £20 million, in addition to an annual salary of £50 million.Hamilton would cost Mercedese a good £537 million including the role of brand ambassador and a possible title won.An unnamed Daily Mail source explained: "Lewis wants five years, and if it was just a one-year extension I don't think he would accept it.