15/05/2018
NEWS STORY
One of several drivers out of contract at the end of the year, one would have presumed that agreeing a new deal with the team that has taken him to three titles would have been a formality.
However, after five rounds of the season the Briton has yet to sign on the dotted line.
Toto Wolff admits that a major stumbling block thus far has been the performance of the W09, which in the opening races appeared to lose out to Ferrari and, to a lesser extent, Red Bull.
However, following the emphatic 1-2 at Barcelona at the weekend, he is confident that a new deal will be forthcoming.
"Obviously we don't want to lose him and I don't think he wants to go anywhere else," said the Austrian. "Everything's going fine.
"I think it's just how you feel towards each other," he continued, "and there is no reason why we shouldn't be racing with each other for a few more years.
"We had other priorities in the last few weeks," he admits. "We weren't happy with our car's performance and we needed to sort things out.
"Finalising a contract is something that you need to involve yourself in and spend time on, and we both decided we'd park it for a minute where we were. But it's almost all sorted and we will pick it up at the right time. This is what we will do and we will let you know as soon as possible."