06/06/2023
NEWS STORY
Buoyed by his result in Spain, Lewis Hamilton offers hope to fans that he is close to signing new contract with Mercedes.
Though he finished 24s adrift of Max Verstappen, the performance of the seven-time world champion, and his Mercedes teammate, offers hope that Mercedes has finally turned a corner.
Though Toto Wolff was keen to play down the car's performance, insisting that the cooler race conditions were absolutely perfect for the car, Hamilton was over the moon, especially as after Friday's sessions he believed he would struggle to even make it into Q3.
"For me, that's definitely the best the car has been for the last year and a half," he told reporters at race end. "Kudos to the amazing group of people we have at the factory continuing to work hard and push the car forward.
"It felt the best this weekend, it felt the best yesterday and today than it's felt for the past 14, 15 months, whatever it is," he added.
"That's super encouraging, not only for me, but for everybody in the team. This will be a big boost for everybody's morale. We're going to take that energy on to develop the car."
With the Briton out of contract at season end - and the ludicrous speculation linking his with Ferrari seemingly put to bed - it is understandable that he was asked about his negotiations with Mercedes.
"I haven't signed anything yet," he said. "But I think we're meeting with Toto tomorrow, so hopefully we can get something done.
"We've had so many meetings," he added. "It's just another one of the meetings we've been having. But you can see today my result, my performance isn't affected by that.
"I think it's always something that's at the back of your mind, so once that's done you are able to focus more and think about the future."
Wolff subsequently told Sky Sports that he was hopeful.
"I think we just need time and to sit over coffee," he said. "That's going to take half an hour."