Hamilton debunks Ferrari rumour: 'One person here started talking about it...'

Hardly a Grand Prix goes by without Lewis Hamilton getting questions about his contract extension (or not) with Mercedes. Last week, there was a rumour (again) that the seven-time world champion may switch to Ferrari. There would even be an astronomical salary in return. Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes, already denied the story, but the main protagonist himself did not yet come forward.

During the press conference in Monaco, Hamilton was asked about the situation with Ferrari. "I think naturally when you are in the middle of contract negotiations, there is always going to be speculation," the British driver interjected. "I think ultimately, unless you hear it from me, that's what it is."

The rumours are then debunked by Hamilton. Where the reporting comes from? "Well, there is a at least one person in this room who has written about it. But yes, I don't know. Maybe because of last weekend, with the cancellation of the race, maybe they got bored and just started talking about this."

Contract almost complete

Behind the scenes, the 38-year-old driver and his current employer are busy getting everything in place. Hamilton seems to indicate that everything will come around in the foreseeable future. "My team is working closely behind the scenes with Toto. We are almost at the end of having the contract ready. They are having a team focus on that so I can just do my job. That is a much better position than I was in before, as I remember doing all my negotiations on my own, and that was very stressful," he concludes.