'I think Hamilton will look at other teams over the course of the season'

Lewis Hamilton signed a one-season contract with the Mercedes team last week. That it is only a one year deal does not come as a surprise to Christijan Albers. He also thinks that this is purely due to the coronavirus crisis and that Hamilton is waiting for better times to sign a new contract.

"The demands he had just didn't fit in with the coronavirus time," Albers said in De Telegraaf's Formula One podcast. "You see now that a one-year deal has been done and the reason for that is that he hopes that the economy will pick up at the end of the year and maybe the following year he can demand a higher salary again. At the moment he just has to agree to the proposal that is there from Mercedes, because otherwise he just wouldn't have driven."

"Wolff of course now has a bigger share in the team (together with INEOS) and that means he has to pay more out of his own pocket. He's just kind of keeping Lewis nice. They are going to see this season if Lewis has the appeal to bring in extra sponsorship and then they can pay his salary from that."

Hamilton would fall into a black hole

There is, of course, a possibility that Hamilton will call it a day after his eighth world title, but Albers does not believe in that. According to him, Hamilton would fall into a black hole if he were to retire now and not have the spotlight on him before then.

"Lewis is really not going to stop, for the time being, he is so in his element. He does say he likes solitude, but of course, he also loves the show, let's be honest. I do think he will look over the course of the season to see if there is a possibility of making a move to another team, where he could possibly earn more."