'Hamilton is 36 years old so every contract he signs is potentially his last'

On Monday, news emerged that Lewis Hamilton will be a Mercedes driver for at least one more year. Talks were slow, but Sky journalist Craig Slater knows exactly why and says it wasn't actually that long.

Delay in negotiations

"For a start, Lewis Hamilton is already 36 years old and any contract could just be his last, so he just has to get it right," Slater opened up at Sky Sports F1. The 2020 season was significantly delayed by the coronavirus, which Slater says didn't help the negotiations either.

"Lewis revealed that he did not want to start contract talks if possibly the economic situation at the factory might be under review," Slater continues. The talks were therefore moved to later in the year, during the busy schedule that Formula 1 would have to complete in order to get to a full season.

Fairly normal for a contract of this size

Hamilton then contacted the coronavirus himself, forcing him to miss a race and again leaving no time for a chat with team principal Toto Wolff. "And actually, I can reveal today that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff only sat down to discuss this contract on Christmas week," Slater said.

"So in actual fact given a contract of this magnitude, this is a fairly normal length when it comes to contract negotiations." A so-called Verstappen clause would never have been an issue, according to Slater. "Absolute rubbish. That never came up in any discussion whatsoever."