IT’S FINALLY CONFIRMED!!! We’ve been waiting for this confirmation for months! Now we finally know for sure that Lewis Hamilton will be racing with Mercedes for 2021. Now the entire 2021 grid is complete! Hamilton’s 2021 contract is a one-year contract, however, meaning we don’t know about his plans for 2022.
Everyone already expected this news; nobody could see Hamilton retiring at such a high point in his career. In this case, as Hamilton said, it was a matter of when it would happen not if it would happen. Apart from the fact that Hamilton is a 7-time World Champion, there was a lot of stir about when this news was coming.
These contract deals and confirmations usually arrive towards the end of the previous year. However, Hamilton and Mercedes agreed to focus on the 2020 season before focusing on 2021. After that, Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19, and so did Toto Wolff, which further delayed his contract talks. Coming into 2021, it has become harder and harder for people to interact due to the stricter COVID-19 restrictions.
But now we’ve finally got the news that Hamilton and Mercedes will continue their extremely successful partnership. For those of you who don’t know already, Valterri Bottas will also continue to partner Hamilton. He signed his one-year extension with Mercedes. in August 2020.
Now let’s see what Hamilton and Mercedes Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff said about this news.
“I am excited to be heading into my ninth season with my Mercedes teammates” – Lewis Hamilton
“I am excited to be heading into my ninth season with my Mercedes teammates,” said Hamilton. “Our team has achieved incredible things together and we look forward to building on our success even further, while continuously looking to improve, both on and off the track.
“I’m equally determined to continue the journey we started to make motorsport more diverse for future generations. And I am grateful that Mercedes has been extremely supportive of my call to address this issue. I’m proud to say we are taking that effort further this year by launching a foundation dedicated to diversity and inclusion in the sport. I am inspired by all that we can build together and can’t wait to get back on the track in March.”
Toto Wolff also said similar things about this news. “We have always been aligned with Lewis that we would continue. But the very unusual year we had in 2020 meant it took some time to finish the process,” said Wolff.
“Together, we have decided to extend the sporting relationship for another season and to begin a longer-term project to take the next step in our shared commitment to greater diversity within our sport. Lewis’s competitive record stands alongside the best the sports world has ever seen, and he is a valued ambassador for our brand and our partners.
“The story of Mercedes and Lewis has written itself into the history books of our sport over the past eight seasons, and we are hungry to compete and to add more chapters to it.”
Will 2021 Be Hamilton’s Last Year in Formula 1?
One of the biggest questions that was going around on social media was if this was the end. Will Lewis take his 8th title, and then leave? Will he retire a champion, like Nico Rosberg did? Everyone’s pretty sure that Hamilton will win the 2021 title and break Schumacher’s 7-title record, so everyone’s asking this question.
With a one-year deal, we never know what will happen. It could be that Lewis would be satisfied with 8 titles. But looking at Hamilton, I personally think he’ll keep going for AT LEAST another year after 2021. However, in Formula 1, anything can happen.
This is the end of this post; if there are any updates or details, I’ll either post about it here, or post about it on social media. Stay safe, and stay on the lookout for updates to our Guide To F1, which is still in the making!
