Lewis Hamilton is hoping to sign a new contract with Mercedes before Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, the driver has revealed.
“It is going back between the lawyers so hopefully it is done before the weekend,” Hamilton told Sky Sports News. “That would be great, but if not in due time.”
Hamilton, 30, who won his second world championship title last year, is in the final season of his current three-year deal with Mercedes.
He is currently paid around £20m a year and talks have gone slowly because it is understood that the driver has been looking for a substantial pay rise, as much as double his old agreement, which would put him on a par with Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari.
Hamilton has been negotiating the deal himself since splitting with Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment agency at the end of last year. “I’m not too sure I’ve enjoyed it,” he said of the experience before heading to Australia for the opening race of the season on 15 March, which he won. “It’s a very, very nerve-racking experience. But I’m glad I’ve done it. If I’d not done something like this I would have always wondered if I could or could not.”
Negotiations over a fresh deal started before the end of last season, but Hamilton cancelled them before the Russian Grand Prix in October to allow him to concentrate on his title battle with his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
