Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes could part ways at the end of this year given the eye-watering cost of paying the F1 star’s next contract.
Hamilton’s current contract, worth A$52 million a season, ends at the end of 2023 and his future in the sport is up in the air.
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With daylight behind Red Bull in the race for the drivers’ and constructors’ championship this season, the clock is ticking on Hamilton’s bid for a recordbreaking eighth world title.
Hamilton is yet to sign a new deal but according to The Times, the prospect of having to pay the 38-year-old’s next contract could see Mercedes wave goodbye to the seven-time world champion.
Earlier this year, reports suggested Hamilton’s new contract would be worth $217.8 million across two years.
20 Minutes reported Hamilton was considering an additional contract as a Mercedes ambassador after he retires, worth $389.6 million over 10 years.
If Hamilton puts pen to paper on these deals, he would stand to earn $680.9m over the next 13 years.
The staggering amounts are reportedly financed significantly by Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of chemical multinational Ineos, which also serves as the main sponsor of Mercedes-AMG Petronas and holds a 33 per cent stake in the team.
Writing in The Times, Matthew Syed said the “many Hamilton detractors” believe Mercedes could be better off spending that money elsewhere and Hamilton could make a move to Ferrari.
“This is why the question of his future is so tantalising,” Syed wrote.
“He benefited hugely from the world-class engineering at Mercedes in the good years and doubtless feels a sense of loyalty.
“But with one season left on his contract, he may be wondering whether there is a different ride out there that may enable him to leave on a high.
“It’s unlikely he would gain a berth at Red Bull, but the prospect of Hamilton and Verstappen going head to head in the same car – the ageing maestro against the audacious pretender – is a storyline that could take the sport to a new level.
“Perhaps there’s also a chance that Mercedes can get their act together, find a way of getting the car up to speed.
“The teamwork between driver and engineers may find renewed life, giving Hamilton a shot at the dream he craves.
“It is also possible – and many Hamilton detractors have raised this prospect – that Mercedes may end the relationship at the end of this season, given the expense of his reported £60 million (A$110m) contract.
“What seems clear, to me at least, is that Hamilton will ‘find a way’. He will rage against the dying of the light. He will agitate against the disadvantage of an underperforming car.
“He will continue to bet on himself against the rigours of time and mechanical underperformance, seeking out the glimmer of opportunity that he’s so often found on the track.
“It may manifest itself in a new design or a new team, but I don’t see this story petering out just yet.”
Hamilton finished fifth in the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but Mercedes was well off the lightning pace set by Red Bull.
The Silver Arrows showed better pace in Jeddah but team principal Toto Wolff isn’t getting carried away ahead of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
