Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has signed a two-year contract extension at Mercedes and will remain with the team until the end of 2020.
The deal is reported to be worth $52 million per year, further enhancing the 33-year-old’s status as Britain’s highest-paid sportsperson.
As far as Hamilton was concerned, the extension had been “a formality” ever since he sat down with Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff “during the winter.”
“I have been part of the Mercedes racing family for 20 years and I have never been happier inside a team than I am right now,” said the four-time world champion, who currently trails Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by eight points at the midway point of this season’s title race.
“We are on the same wavelength both on and off track - and I am looking forward to winning more in the future and shining even more light on the three-pointed star. I’m very confident that Mercedes is the right place to be over the coming years.”
Hamilton went on to express his belief that the team is “hungrier than ever,” from the boardroom to the pit lane, as they chase a fifth consecutive Constructors’ Championship.
“The competitive passion that burns bright inside me is shared by every single member of this group, always chasing the next improvement and digging even deeper to make sure we come out on top,” said Hamilton.
“I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in the next two-and-a-half seasons.”
Lewis Hamilton sprays second-placed Sebastian Vettel with champagne after winning the Abu Dhabi season-ending race, 11th of his title winning season.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Lewis Hamilton celebrates his 10th win of the season as he takes the Brazilian GP ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Lewis Hamilton savors the moment after clinching his fifth F1 world title with fourth place behind Max Verstappen in the Mexican Grand Prix.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Race winner Kimi Raikkonen is flanked by second-placed Max Verstappen (far left) and Lewis Hamilton, who finished third after a thrilling US Grand Prix. Hamilton increased his title lead to 70 points over Sebastian Vettel ahead of the final three rounds of the championship.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Race winner Lewis Hamilton had plenty to celebrate after claiming victory in the Japanese GP at Suzuka to lead the world championship by 67 points with four rounds remaining.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Lewis Hamilton (no 44) overtook fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas under team orders on his way to a decisive victory in the 2018 F1 title race as he extended his advantage over Sebastian Vettel to 50 points.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Lewis Hamilton led from pole position in his famous No.44 Mercedes and took his seventh victory of the season on the Marina Bay street circuit in Singapore.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Hamilton stormed to a record-equalling fifth Italian Grand Prix victory -- overtaking both Ferraris in the process.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Lewis Hamilton celebrates with the trophy on the podium after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest to extend his title lead over Sebastian Vettel to 24 points.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Hamilton celebrates an extraordinary comeback win at the German Grand Prix to give him a 17-point championship lead as title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Dutch driver Max Verstappen claims a dramatic victory at the home of Red Bull Racing. But how does that impact the Drivers' Championship?
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Melbourne, Australia -- 'Lucky' Vettel wins season opener —
Sebastian Vettel took full advantage of a bizarre incident involving both cars of the American-owned Haas team to claim the opening race of the 2018 Formula One season in Australia.
Sakhir, Bahrain -- Ferrari win soured by injured mechanic —
Vettel won for the second time in as many races at the Bahrain Grand Prix. But the Italian team's victory was overshadowed after one of its mechanics suffered a broken leg when he was hit by Kimi Raikkonen's car during a pit stop.
An inspired Daniel Ricciardo claimed a remarkable and unexpected victory from sixth on the grid after a tactical masterstroke by his Red Bull team in Shanghai, with furious championship leader Vettel back in eighth place.
Baku, Azerbaijan -- Red Bull drivers shockingly crash as Hamilton triumphs —
Lewis Hamilton was the chief beneficiary of a late puncture suffered by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas as he clinched his first win of the season at April's action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Barcelona, Spain -- Lewis Hamilton leads Mercedes one-two —
After his unlikely victory in Azerbaijan, it was a second straight win for Hamilton as he bids for a fifth world championship -- and it could not have been more comfortable.
Ricciardo nursed his ailing Red Bull to a remarkable victory on the streets of Monte Carlo and with it made up for his 2016 heartbreak on the same circuit.
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Canada -- Vettel wins to take title initiative —
Sebastian Vettel's 50th career victory saw him replace Lewis Hamilton at the top of the championship standings to cap an emotional day for the Ferrari team.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Briton Lewis Hamilton won the first French Grand Prix since 2008. The Mercedes driver avoided the worst of a dramatic start that saw title rival Sebastian Vettel clip Valtteri Bottas. Both drivers sustained damage in the collision, forcing them to pit early them and fall to the back of the grid.
Austria -- Verstappen wins after Mercedes meltdown —
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a dramatic Austrian Grand Prix as hitherto championship leader Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, were forced to retire.
Britain -- Vettel wins despite Hamilton fightback —
Home favorite Lewis Hamilton was denied a sixth victory at the British Grand Prix as Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took control of the championship at Silverstone
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Drivers' title race after round 10 —
Vettel - 171Hamilton - 163Raikkonen - 116
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Germany -- Advantage Hamilton as Vettel crashes out —
Hamilton fought back from 14th on the grid to claim an astonishing victory as Vettel crashed out at Hockenheim.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Drivers' title race after round 11 —
Hamilton - 188 Vettel - 171 Raikkonen - 131
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Hungary -- Hamilton extends title lead with 'beautiful' win —
Hamilton went into F1's summer break with a season-high 24-point advantage in the title race over Vettel after winning at the Hungaroring.
Fernando Alonso's car was launched over the top of Charles Leclerc on the opening corner of the Belgian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel went on to win at Spa to cut Lewis Hamilton's lead at the top of the Driver Standings to 17 points.
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Drivers' title race after round 12 —
Hamilton -- 231Vettel -- 214Raikkonen - 146
Photos: Story of the F1 season
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Ferrari's sea of fans -- the 'Tifosi' -- hold up a flag making fun of Lewis Hamilton, but he has the last laugh, winning the Italian Grand Prix for the fifth time
An ‘all-time great’
Mercedes had teased the announcement on social media earlier Thursday, tweeting an image of an unsigned contract.
Wolff said there had been little doubt his star driver would renew ever since they first entered talks at the end of last season, admitting it was a relief to put the speculation “to rest.”
“We signed the final documents this week and didn’t want to keep people waiting any longer,” said the Mercedes boss.
“There is not much about Lewis as a Formula One driver that hasn’t been said already – he is one of the all-time greats and his track record speaks for itself.
“But what I enjoy most about working with him is getting to know the man inside the racing helmet: his relentless drive for self-improvement, his emotional intelligence as a team member and his loyalty to those around him.”
Hamilton was already 12th on the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes compiled by business magazine Forbes in 2018, boasting endorsement deals with the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Sony and Puma.
The only other F1 drivers in the top 50 are Vettel (18th) and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso (39th).
Widely considered one of the greatest drivers of all time, Hamilton has competed in 218 Grands Prix since his F1 debut in 2007. He’s made the podium 124 times, crossing the line first on 65 occasions, while no other driver in history has secured as many pole positions as the Briton.
