Hamilton on new contract and chasing Red Bull: ‘Meeting with Toto tomorrow’

Lewis Hamilton was rather satisfied after finishing second in Spanish Grand Prix, and he was the best of the rest behind Max Verstappen. The British driver was also happy to answer questions about his contract and how he can potentially challenge Verstappen in the future.

In Sunday's post-race press conference after the race where GPblog are present among others, Hamilton had the following to say about his contract situation. "My performance is not affected by it. I think it's always something that is at the back of your mind. Once it's done, you can focus more on the future. I am working as hard as I can with this team. I see so much strength within the team. They're still so hungry. The podium was really special today to see them at the back and the excitement. When we go back right now, they'll be a great energy. These guys will take two seconds to enjoy themselves, and they'll be back down trying to figure out how we can win the next race," said the former seven-time champion.

He later continued: “Well, I haven't signed anything yet, but I think we're thinking of meeting with Toto tomorrow, so hopefully, we can get something done."

Hopes of Mercedes to challenge Verstappen again

“With the current car that we have, I don't think we will be matching their performance, but we're working on improving the car. So with the current package, we're limited to the pace that we have today. (...) We need to be taking big, big chunks out of them with every step we take. But I mean, I don't know. I think today there were a good few tenths ahead of us. Maybe half a second ahead of us in the lap. So and on a single lap, that's a little bit bigger. But I think we're going in the right direction,” Hamilton said about where he thinks Mercedes are standing at the moment.

The Brit also pointed out an important aspect of Red Bull’s current dominant car: the Austrian team can start to plan their 2024 car earlier. “The further we continue to push this car this year, the more that impacts next year also in some ways, you know. So but the more we learn about this car, also then also sets us in the right direction. So it's trying to find the right balance. They're so far ahead, and you know, Max will continue to win this year. But that means that they can start on their development for next year sooner, earlier than everybody else if they haven't already. And that's the danger. So we just got to work, keep working hard, but also try and get the right balance,“ Hamilton concluded.