F1: Hamilton Mercedes deal to be announced in a matter of weeks

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is currently deciding a date of when to announce the news of Lewis Hamilton's contract extension.

Which can of course mean only one thing, the quadruple world champion is going to keep committing to the silver arrows.

Many media sources believe Hamilton's new contract with the constructors' champions will earn him $45 million a year starting from the beginning of 2019.

The new deal would see Hamilton maintain being the highest paid British athlete ahead of the likes of boxer Anthony Joshua and tennis player Andy Murray.

And the contract would see the Briton commit to Mercedes until at least the end of the 2020 Formula 1 season.

Mercedes' number one driver currently leads the driver's championship by 14 points ahead of Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel after eight races.

Hamilton left his boyhood team, McLaren, in 2012 in a risk to join an unproven Mercedes group alongside future rival Nico Rosberg.

It was a move many questioned especially when the 2012 season showed McLaren were still providing a race winning car.

But since the headline move, Hamilton has been showered with 1st place trophies along with three world championships and helping his team achieve four constructors' titles in a row.

Not a bad

five year

spell for Hamilton

His five years at Mercedes has seen Hamilton become one of the most successful drivers in F1 history and be the most decorated British racer of all time.

It is a no brainer for the 33 year old to stay.

Hamilton doesn't see the point in moving on from Mercedes, he told Sport Bild: "Mercedes has become like my family. There is no reason to change."

Hamilton wants Bottas to stay

It is believed that during the contract talks, Hamilton requested that the team also offered a new contract to Valtteri Bottas.

The Finnish driver has proven to be a good and reliable team mate since the two joined up in 2017 after Rosberg's surprising retirement from the sport.

Coming up on the F1 2018 calendar is the German and British Grand Prix. And it could be at one of those two races that Wolff and Mercedes will finally announce Hamilton's contract extension.

So will the announcement be made ahead of Hamilton's home race or the team's home Grand Prix?

According to their team principal it all comes down to timing: "It's all about the right time for the announcement," Wolff confirmed.

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