Lewis Hamilton asserts that Mercedes’ progress with its 2023 Formula 1 car will have no bearing on his next contract.
Hamilton is expected to remain with Mercedes beyond the 2023 campaign, with his current contract expiring at the end of the year.
Mercedes has struggled for form since the start of the 2022 campaign, when new technical regulations were brought into play.
Its slide down the pecking order led some to suggest that Hamilton could seek a challenge outside of Mercedes going forward.
However, Hamilton asserts that it is not the case.
“No, no, that’s not what I’m thinking,” he said when asked if the progress of the W14 is a determining factor for his future.
“Before the end of the season we will be already well into the contract. I still have 100 per cent faith in this team.
“And it has taken longer for all of us to get to where we want to be. And it’s definitely not easy. But I believe that we will get there.
“I think we’ve just got to continue to work and chip away at it. And that’s what we’re trying to do.
“That’s why we’ve got the upgrade here for the front wing, we will have bits over the following races, hopefully. It could come soon enough.
“But I’m pushing as hard as I can. I was having big meetings with the team earlier this week, speaking to the head of aero, to the head of vehicle dynamics, also with what’s in mind for next year’s car.”
Mercedes will unveil upgrades this weekend in Silverstone, continuing the new development path that it put into practice shortly after the start of the season.
Hamilton downplayed the impact that they will have but is confident that they will push the team forward.
“We have a new front wing [at Silverstone],” he said. “So it’s just one step, hopefully, further in the right direction.
“It’s not a huge, huge package or anything like that. But we’re just [going] step by step, hopefully trying to close down the gap.
“Obviously, Austria was not a nice weekend for us all. But that’s where we learn the most.
“That’s when we pull together the most as a team. So, I was in the factory on Tuesday and Wednesday with the team.
“And everyone’s back in, flat out, just focused on turning that negative into a positive here this weekend.”
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