Toto Wolff says that there were “no stumbling blocks” in the negotiations with Lewis Hamilton about a new Mercedes Formula 1 contract and has praised “good talks” so far.
The seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton signed a one-year contract with Mercedes for the 2021 season back in February, which led to questions about his future from 2022.
However, Hamilton has shown few signs of considering retiring from Formula 1 or leaving Mercedes, announcing Thursday that talks are now underway on a new contract and that early discussions have been “positive”.
When he spoke about Hamilton’s future at Sky Sports F1 on Friday, Wolff said that the talks were going well and that he saw no sticking points in the negotiations.
“Yes, pretty relaxed because it’s going well,” said Wolff after the opening training session for the Styrian Grand Prix.
“We discuss. There are no stumbling blocks. I think it’s just about agreements and something that takes a few days longer. Yes, good conversations.”
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Hamilton spoke on Thursday about how much he enjoyed working with his current team-mate Valtteri Bottas and that he “didn’t necessarily see that this had to change”.
Bottas is also out of contract at the end of the year, and his future has been the subject of regular speculation as Mercedes consider adding junior driver George Russell to its squad as a replacement.
When asked whether his teammate was a stumbling block during contract talks, Wolff replied: “No, we have never talked about preferences, nor about the line-up.
“It’s not something that is part of his thinking.”
Wolff stated in a press conference shortly after his Sky interview that Mercedes will always be transparent to Hamilton in its driver decisions because it values its opinion.
“When we talk about drivers, there is nothing we do not share with him, it is transparent,” said Wolff.
“But vice versa, when I talk to Valtteri, it’s open. When I talk to George it’s very open because I don’t want any hidden intentions.
“We have to assess the situation going forward. Valtteri had some really good weekends, but he also had some free weekends and we just have to minimize them.
“Then we will make a decision, and whatever decision we make, Valtteri or George, the person involved will hear that first and that is the driver.”
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