Toto Wolff: No reason Lewis Hamilton won't stay at Mercedes

ByJames Walker-Roberts

Updated 26/10/2020 at 16:48 GMT

Lewis Hamilton is out of contract at the end of the season but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is not worried that he will be on the move. Wolff says he has not yet met with Hamilton, who won a record-breaking 92nd Grand Prix in Portugal, because of concerns over Covid-19 and potentially disrupting Mercedes' season.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton is a "perfect match" with the team and has no doubts he will soon sign a new contract.

Hamilton won a record-breaking 92nd Grand Prix in Portugal on Sunday and looks set to secure a record-equalling seventh championship.

He is, though, out of contract at the end of the season and is yet to sit down with Wolff and sign an extension due to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. But Hamilton said at the weekend that he plans to be with Mercedes next year and Wolff is sure a deal will be worked out.

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He told the BBC: “If an asteroid hits the world, anything can happen. But at the moment there is no reason he wouldn't want to be in the quickest car and we want him in the car so it's a perfect match.

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"Where we stand today is that everybody has the will to continue. The situation is very simple, and I know there are some conspiracy theories in F1, but with Lewis and I, we are living like hermits and our team is particularly disciplined.

“We have another 11 cars for our staff, we are not allowing more than two people to have dinner together, the seven or eight system-relevant people are not allowed socialise with each other and the drivers are most exposed.

• Hamilton wins record-breaking 92nd race
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“I was in Monaco last week and we decided not to meet because the worst that could happen is that me dragging corona into our meeting. So it simply wasn't the time to sit down and meet. I hope we can finish the next couple of races on a high and then concentrate on the contract.”

Wolff also praised Hamilton for his improvements on and off the track.

“What is most impressive for me is his development out of the car. The Lewis Hamilton I met in 2013 when we both started at Mercedes is a totally different person from today.

“He is permanently questioning himself, developing out of the car, his personality, his skills, and that is truly inspiring. Every single day he wants to be better than the day before.”

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