Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton’s Future Uncertain Following Mercedes Chief’s Latest Admission

• Lewis Hamilton is in the final stretch of his current Mercedes contract
• Talks of the seven-time champion extending his contract have proven abortive
• The 38-year-old driver has been a subject of interest for rival Formula 1 teams

Lewis Hamilton’s immediate future remains in the air after talks for the Mercedes driver to extend his stay at the German constructor have stalled.

The seven-time Formula 1 champion was reported to be in contract talks with the Silverstone team, and Team principal Toto Wolff had previously suggested that only a few minor details were holding up the signing of the deal.

A contract announcement was expected ahead of the British Grand Prix in Silverstone. However, recent reports from Express UK state things could have taken a different turn, and both parties could be bringing to an end their 10-year partnership.

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Lewis Hamilton to depart Mercedes?

The English media outlet has posited that Hamilton’s reluctance to agree to a new contract at Mercedes could be linked to the race pace of the Mercedes Silver Arrow W14.

The W14, which was one of the fastest cars in pre-season testing in Bahrain, has so far struggled for pace, and this has somewhat come as discouraging for the British driver.

Mercedes designer James Allisson recently spoke to Motorsport.com about why the team has been unable to match the race pace shown by Red Bull and, more recently, McLaren.

Allison said:

"The lag between what the car sees and what the wind tunnel is doing is how quickly you can drop the wind tunnel geometry into the design office and how they can spit that out into manufacturing to make.

“Back in the day, when cost cap wasn't there, then you could drop those things out the wind tunnel pretty much every other day, and people would furiously design them and then you'd furiously build them, which meant the lag between where the tunnel was and where the track was always only a few weeks.

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“Nowadays, you can afford maybe to drop two or three major or major-ish upgrades in a season, and then that just tickles things in between.”

It remains to be seen if Mercedes, given their inability to compete with Red Bull and other teams vying for the championship, would be able to tie Hamilton to a new long-term contract.

Hamilton advised against joining Ferrari

Sports Brief in a previous report stated that British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has been warned against making a possible switch to Italian Formula 1 constructor Ferrari.

According to Formula 1 analyst Peter Windsor, a move to the Maranello would plunge the driver’s career into chaos

As reported by Sports Illustrated, Hamilton’s future at Mercedes has been up in the air with rumours that the driver is unhappy.

With just five months left to go on his existing deal, many teams on the grid have been linked with the seven-time champion.