06 July 2023 , 06:00
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Mercedes will NOT announce a new contract for Lewis Hamilton ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix.
Toto Wolff admitted as much in the wake of last week's race in Austria. It proved to be one to forget for Mercedes, who finished seventh and eighth to take home only a handful of points.
George Russell finished highest of the two. But that was only after a round of penalties dished out hours after the end of the race relegated Hamilton below his fellow Brit.
The seven-time world champion was clearly frustrated with his car's lack of performance throughout the race. Incensed by the first penalty he received, he spent much of the rest of the Grand Prix complaining about other drivers exceeding track limits.
Team boss Wolff stepped in on two occasions with curt responses to Hamilton's complaints. The second was simply: "Lewis the car is bad, we know, please drive it," in a matter-of-fact tone.
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It was a notable show of tension between two people who have worked together for years and have endless respect and admiration for one another. But Wolff rubbished any suggestion that it would have any impact on their contract negotiations.
He said: "You should hear us talking on the phone and meeting each other – that was nothing! No, [it will] not [have an impact] at all. We've had a bad spell of a weekend all of us in the team and that just makes us stronger."
Toto Wolff provided an update on contract negotiations with Lewis Hamilton (AP)Wolff said ahead of the Canada race last month that Hamilton's new deal was "days" away. But no such outcome has materialised in the couple of weeks since – and the Austrian has now said that no announcement is expected before the Silverstone race this weekend.
Explaining the current situation, he added: "I'm still very confident [of striking a deal]. They want to do it super, to every detail and sometimes you can have a situation where everything is carved out.
"This is not a money discussion at all. It is about the future, what is it that we want to do right and optimise? We're not talking anything anymore about duration, money, all of that – it's other topics."