Was the Hamilton-Mercedes deal delay caused by money discussion?
Feb.11 - Lewis Hamilton's farcically-delayed contract negotiations were all about money.
That is the theory of former F1 driver Christijan Albers, referring to this week's announcement of a new one-year deal for the seven time world champion.
"Hamilton's demands were simply not in line with this coronavirus situation," he opined to De Telegraaf newspaper.
"You can see very easily how this one-year deal was made. The reason is simple: Lewis hopes that by the end of the year, the economic situation will begin to improve and he may be able to demand a higher salary.
"At the moment, he had to agree with Mercedes' proposal, otherwise he would simply have been left without a place in Formula 1," the Dutchman added.
Albers thinks Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will be monitoring the situation closely as negotiations kick off again in the coming months.
"Wolff is a co-owner of the team now with more shares than before which means he basically pays Hamilton out of his own pocket," he said.
"For now he is politely supporting Lewis, and they'll maybe see if he can attract new sponsors this season - if so, they can use that money to pay Hamilton more.
"But Lewis is not simply going to stop and end his career yet," Albers added.
"Although he says he loves being alone, let's be honest - he needs a show. I think, during this season, he will be exploring his options with other teams who can pay him more."
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We all know Lewis will end up at FERRARI before the end of his career. Eight or nine titles and over 100 race wins which will probably NEVER get beaten will satisfy him enough to accept a less competitive FERRARI seat to see out his career, assuming MERCEDES still have the dominant car and RED BULL are still in F1 in two years time. LECLERC will be a formidable competitor and team-mate by then.
How much does he want? One day he will realise it's the car that has been the best by far, not him. Give him a Haas and see where he finished. Give George Russell the seat, in my opinion with a little more practice he's as good as Hamilton and a LOT cheaper
"It's not just the most powerful engine in the field, it's also the most drivable," said Schumacher, regarding his winning car and his success. Take that statement from the second best F1 driver ever, stop hating on Sir Lewis Hamilton, the G.O.A.T. đ, and try to be a better you.
The car not the driver? How many races or championships has McClaren won since Hamilton left?
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