Between classification and renewal
The fourth place achieved at the end of the Belgian GP, combined with the two points collected in the Sprint race on Saturday – despite the five-second penalty collected for contact with Sergio Perez – allowed Lewis Hamilton to further shorten the championship standings on Fernando Alonso. Now the Spaniard from Aston Martin maintains third place with a single gap over the English from Mercedes, who is clearly on the rise. The summer break could also bring the long-awaited renewal of the contract with the Brackley team to the #44. The two sides have been saying for months now that they are sure to continue together, but at the moment no official announcement has arrived yet.
Complicated negotiation
Toto Wolff in recent days has written the word end to any discussion, defining the‘deal with the seven-times world champion as of now “emotionally done”. However, the Austrian team principal was not the only one to refer to the emotional aspect of this negotiation. In fact, on the sidelines of the Belgian weekend, even Lewis Hamilton let himself go into some confidences. The Stevenage veteran, who should have gone guaranteed a seat at least until the end of the 2025 seasonindeed commented on the long negotiation carried out with Mercedes as one “emotional roller coaster“. He and Wolff, who now have a strong friendship between them, had to go back to discussing the driver-manager level.
“I think it was definitely an emotional roller coaster on both sides” – Hamilton declared to the Belgian TV station RTB extension. In fact, the negotiation seems to have been rather tough, more than perhaps what has been leaked in the media: “[Wolff] he has his human side, but he’s also a businessman Hamilton explained. [la trattativa] it is a continuous process and no one can understand the complexity of the situation. I’m now digging into my contracts. But I intend to stay here“.
There is no shortage of hunger
Despite advancing age and increasingly younger rivals, Hamilton is convinced that he still has what it takes to chase the coveted eighth titleas evidenced by the ranking: “I’m still very hungry – reiterated the Englishman – I don’t know if it’s a curse or a blessing that I’m so competitive in everything I do. I was talking about it with my dad the other day and we said to each other how absurd it is that the feeling of losing is still exactly the same as it always was. But I am grateful that I still have the passion and love for what I do after all these years. That’s why I’m still here”.
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