Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes contract talks nearing end game

Lewis Hamilton’s contract renewal talks with Mercedes are now “down to the details”, according to Toto Wolff, with the team boss hopeful of concluding discussions with the world champion “soon”.

Questions on the state of contract talks between F1’s world champion driver and team have been a recurring theme in Mercedes’ press conferences since their triumphant end to last season. Hamilton’s existing Mercedes contract, which he signed in September 2012 to join the team for the following season, now has just nine months left to run.

The topic of Hamilton’s future was broached again when the Briton appeared alongside Wolff and team-mate Nico Rosberg at St Kilda beach in Melbourne on Thursday morning ahead of the opening weekend of the 2015 season.

Although Wolff said in February that “we should aim to finish the discussions before the start of the season”, he has repeatedly stressed that there is no deadline on the process, adding on Thursday that negotiations were continuing to progress well.

“This is a very important topic and we didn’t set ourselves any deadlines because deadlines put you under pressure,” Wolff said.

“Our discussions are very positive; it’s down to the detail. None of us have ever spoken to anybody else and our aim is to do it as soon as possible.

“It’s an ongoing discussion and hopefully we’ll have some news soon.”

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After splitting with his former management company, XIX Entertainment, last season, Hamilton has for the first time been conducting his contract renegotiations himself with the assistance of his long-time lawyer.  

Speculation in recent weeks has suggested that two-time champion Hamilton is aiming to establish himself as the best-paid driver in F1 following the bumper deals signed by Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso at Ferrari and McLaren respectively in recent months.

“We are pretty much there. The lawyers are now doing their thing and we are left to focus on the weekend,” Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ. “It’s not been a particularly enjoyable process. I don’t know if I would choose to do it myself again but I’m hoping I have done myself proud at least.”

Sky Sports F1 will be broadcasting every race in 2015, starting with live and exclusive coverage of the Australian GP on March 15. The race starts at 5am UK Time on Sunday.