Nico Rosberg casts doubt on Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract
Nico Rosberg has claimed that ‘it is not 100 per cent’ that Lewis Hamilton will see out both years of his new Mercedes contract. The seven-time world champion committed his future to the Silver Arrows ahead of the Italian Grand Prix this weekend.
Hamilton’s contract situation has been one of the biggest talking points of the 2023 season. Team principal Toto Wolff insisted at the start of the summer that the new deal would be announced imminently and that only a few minor details needed to be ironed out, but as weeks passed with no confirmation, speculation began to grow.
The 38-year-old Brit was even linked with a shock switch to Ferrari with the Scuderia’s hierarchy pursuing Hamilton’s signature throughout the summer. Ultimately, the Stevenage-born driver decided to stay put, signing on at Mercedes for another couple of seasons.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about Hamilton’s new deal, Rosberg said: “It is never done until they have put pen to paper and even then it is not 100 per cent, as we have seen in F1. I think it makes total sense for Mercedes; It is the best driver pairing out there I think.
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“Plus, they don’t drive into each other which is not always the case, it’s important, and they work very well together. Toto has managed to convince both of them to keep going even though it is not the best situation going car-wise.
“For Lewis, you never know though because he is 38 now. The time might come one day where he does prefer to be on the beach or something so it is not 100 per cent, but it looks like he is still enjoying himself.”
Rosberg knows the power of Hamilton’s motivation well. The duo were close childhood friends and spent four seasons together as team-mates for Mercedes between 2013 and 2016, culminating in the German driver winning his first and only world title at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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After signing his new deal, Hamilton reiterated his desire to fight for World Championships. He said: “We have never been hungrier to win. We have learnt from every success but also every setback.
“We continue to chase our dreams, we continue to fight no matter the challenge and we will win again. I’m grateful to the team who have supported me both on and off the track. Our story isn’t finished, we are determined to achieve more together and we won’t stop until we do.”
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