Lewis Hamilton has denied contract negotiations between him and Mercedes are being held up by the huge sum of money he is demanding in order for the team to retain his services after 2015.
It’s been reported that the current world champion is asking for £1 million a week ($1.5m, €1.4m), which would amount to an annual salary of £52m, easily making him the highest paid driver on the grid.
Those demands are “the biggest piece of rubbish” according to the Briton.
“I know it’s been in the news a bit recently, and this is a good opportunity to say that a lot of the stuff you may have read in the papers is complete nonsense,” he wrote in his BBC column.
“I heard about one story that I had been asking for £1m a week. That is the biggest piece of rubbish that has been written for some time.”
He explained that the delays surrounding an announcement are simply because they’ve yet to agree terms, which is in part because he’s negotiating in person without a manager.
“I keep getting asked why it is taking so long, but that isn’t really the case. It’s just circumstances,” he added.
“We spoke on the phone a little bit while I was away in Colorado but it wasn’t until I got back to Europe for the start of pre-season testing that I reached out and said: ‘Let’s have a chat.’ We had a first meeting, then another one, then another. That’s what happens when you’re negotiating.
“You also have to bear in mind that this is the first time I have ever done something like this on my own, so it’s been a trial-and-error kind of experience for me.
“But there is nothing unusual going on. We are basically there; there’s just a few teeny little bits that we will probably iron out over the next few days and I’d be hopeful that we will have it sorted.”
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