Lewis Hamilton has reportedly been offered a €70 million per season contract to extend at the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
His current contract expires at the end of the 2023 campaign and the seven-time World Champion has expressed on multiple occasions that he wishes to remain in F1 beyond the end of the year.
Hamilton has raced for Mercedes since 2013, with a bulk of his success coming with the German manufacturer in the turbo-hybrid era.
Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff said that the pair would sit down during the winter break to discuss a new agreement.
According to sports business outlet Sportune, Hamilton has been offered a €70m (£62m) per season salary.
It would mark a significant upgrade to his current deal, which reportedly is €45m (£40m).
However, the report says that, unlike his existing contract, the new extension wouldn’t include a €25m (£22m) bonus for being crowned World Champion.
The reported deal that Mercedes is offering Hamilton is said to cover the 2024 and 2025 seasons, meaning he would bag €140m (£123m) in just two years.
It would also see Hamilton continue in F1 into his 40s, with the Briton turning 38 earlier this month.
The French report says that the salary would largely be paid by sponsor Ineos, who has a one-third equal share of the Mercedes F1 team.
Ineos, which is owned by Jim Ratcliffe, would sort 90 per cent of the mammoth contract which also includes donated funds to Mission 44, a charity founded by Hamilton.
Aside from the financial terms of the deal, it is said that Hamilton is seeking an ambassador agreement with Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), in which he would ask for roughly €25m per year.
Hamilton endured his first winless season in F1 last year as Mercedes struggled to keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari across the campaign.
Discussion about this post