Lewis Hamilton has signed a new deal with F1 team Mercedes reported to be worth a staggering £40m a year.
“The 33-year-old Englishman’s new contract cements his status as Britain’s biggest sporting earner as well as the best-paid driver in Formula 1 history,” reports the The Daily Telegraph.
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“Hamilton’s new deal extends his financial might by about £8m a year from £32m,” says the paper. “He will continue to strike his own, side-by-side agreements with Mercedes sponsors, such as Tommy Hilfiger, Monster Energy and Puma.
“With an estimated fortune of £159m, Hamilton will continue his rise up The Sunday Times rich list after being ranked the 742nd richest Brit in the 2018 edition.”
Although news of the deal does not come as a surprise there had been speculation over Hamilton’s future.
“Despite the long-running saga over whether Hamilton would sign on again with the team, Mercedes were confident the deal would be done and said they were waiting for the ‘right time’ to announce it,” says The Guardian. “In the end they have chosen their home grand prix at Hockenheim after teasing the news on Twitter on Thursday morning.”
Hamilton said he was happy to have extended his deal but was focusing on the weekend’s race.
“I have never been happier inside a team than I am right now,” he said. “This contract extension has basically been a formality since Toto and I sat down during the winter, so it’s good to put pen to paper, announce it and then get on with business as usual.
“We are on the same wavelength both on and off track - and I am looking forward to winning more in the future and shining even more light on the three-pointed star.”
Victory in this weekend’s German Grand Prix would be a good start for Hamilton, who trails Sebastian Vettel by eight points in the drivers’ championship after failing to finish the Austrian Grand Prix and then losing out to Vettel in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone two weeks ago.