The “curveballs” in the Hamilton/Mercedes F1 contract saga

Oh to be a fly in the wall in the Lewis Hamilton/Mercedes F1 contract negotiations right now – although I guess the 2021 version would be a computer bug infiltrating a Zoom call!

Fascinating to hear from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about the back-and-forth between the lawyers and the “curveballs” that get thrown in – I wonder what those could be? It’s likely to be a lot more boring than it sounds, with renumeration being a key consideration – as with any contract for a world-leading sportsman – plus the number of media days, third party sponsorships, etc.

Hamilton clearly wants as much freedom as he can get, with his outside fashion interests plus social justice and equality campaigning. It appears that Lewis is up a mountain somewhere in Colorado right now, as he recharges ahead of the new season, but it’s unthinkable that a new deal won’t be announced soon, surely?

Received this email from a friend?