Toto Wolff says he and Lewis Hamilton are bouncing off emails back and forth amid new F1 contract negotiations.
While Mercedes is trying to get back in terms with the its F1 car having had a slow start to the new era last year, Wolff is also busy negotiating a fresh contract for Hamilton to continue with the German manufacturer for few more years.
In fact, Hamilton has noted that whatever his deal would be, it will be for more than a year and just for a single season. The apt one would be two years and the maximum should be three. The discussions and negotiations are already on as per Wolff.
And they both are relaxed at the moment while exchanging emails in the discussions. “It’s been 11 years that I’ve that we’ve been together, and every single time when we talk about Lewis contract, it’s six months of ‘where are we and what is happening?’,” said Wolff.
“And we keep seeing the same thing; that we’re just rolling on, it’s not any difficult contract negotiations, it’s just putting a different timeline and a few different numbers in there. And that’s what we do. And we’re, we’re working on this.
“It’s a work in progress, bouncing emails back and forth. And eventually we’re going to sign it,” summed up Wolff who additionally told ESPN that there is some awkwardness in such negotiations since Hamilton has become a close friend to the Austrian.
Any awkwardness is lowered with the intervention of Penni Thow, who manages Hamilton. “It’s super awkward,” said Wolff. “Every three years we know that we have this moment. And it’s like negotiating financial terms with your best friend, with a close friend.
“How do you tackle that? Normally you don’t have such a situation. I want the best for him, but in that role I need the best for the team. That can be the only time in our ten or 11 years when we are together and our objectives diverge.
“At the end of the day, talking about money with your friend is difficult. Penny helps. Penni has been keeping us in check and we have found a good modus operandi with her about how we talk. We avoid talking to each other about money but we both talk to Penni.”
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