Lewis Hamilton confident of striking new deal with Mercedes - 'I'm hoping to be here a lot longer'
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Updated 06/07/2023 at 21:19 GMT
The Formula 1 season rolls into the United Kingdom for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Lewis Hamilton was front and centre on Thursday, with the seven-time world champion grilled on his contract status at Mercedes. The 38-year-old has expressed confidence that he and the team will get a new deal over the line before the end of the current season.
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Lewis Hamilton has expressed confidence that he will sign a new contract at Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff have repeatedly said that a deal was close, but there has been no breakthrough.
Mercedes have been plagued by inconsistency this term and are well off the pace of Red Bull, but Hamilton says he has full faith in the team.
"I'm hoping to be here a lot longer," Hamilton said ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend. "I feel like I've got another five years in me at least, no?
"Let's see.
"Before the end of the season we'll be already well into the contract. I still have 100% faith in this team."
After showing signs of improvement in Spain and Canada, Mercedes were well off the pace in Austria.
Although admitting to being frustrated, Hamilton is trusting the process.
"It is taking longer for all of us to get to where we want to be and it's definitely not easy, but I believe that we will get there," Hamilton said. "We've just got to continue to work and chip away at it and that's what we're trying to do."
Hamilton’s car will sport a new front wing at Silverstone.
"We have a new front wing, so it's just one step, hopefully further in the right direction,” he said. "It's not a huge, huge package or anything like that, but we're just making step by step, hopefully trying to close down the gap.
"Obviously, Austria was not a nice weekend for us all, but that's where we learn the most, that's when we pull together the most as a team.
"I was in the factory on Tuesday and Wednesday with the team, and everyone was back in flat out just focused on turning that negative into a positive here this weekend."
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