F1 | Mercedes, for the Italian media Hamilton's renewal is a chess game

The renewal between Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton still remains shrouded in mystery despite the fact that next season is quickly approaching. There are many doubts and rumors, starting from the possible duration of the extension up to Lewis' salary, but also through many other aspects that could have a certain specific weight. At the beginning of January we had already raised doubts regarding a negotiation that was not resolved.

Most likely it is not a question of mere salary; for giants like Mercedes and Ineos it shouldn't be a problem to pay the seven-time world champion a fee of around 40 million euros. More than anything, the long-term plans should be known, i.e. whether there is the will to continue with Hamilton for a long time.

According to the weekly autosprintFor example, Mercedes has already put an annual proposal of 35 million euros on the table and the discussions could indeed focus on Lewis' request to have a say in the choice of his teammate if he stays beyond 2021.

Hamilton, making his status as a champion and the most successful driver ever weigh heavily, could well push to reserve the choice of vetoing George Russell, a crystal-clear talent who could also "annoy" him and who astonished the team's top management with his Sakhir performance. It is no mystery, however, that the reigning champion has always pushed for the confirmation of Valtteri Bottas alongside him.

It should also be underlined - we tell you this - that Ineos is a company already strongly committed to sport and with a great predisposition to launching young talents. The chemical giant took over the Sky cycling team two years ago and launched a very young man like Egan Bernal, who immediately won the Tour de France.

We do not know whether the new co-owners of the Anglo-German team will want to link their image to Hamilton for a long time (a choice which would also suit them considering Lewis's notoriety) or will tend to "rejuvenate" the team to give an image of freshness, and in that case a George Russell fighting for the championship would be ideal.

In short, there are many aspects to evaluate for a renewal that will probably take place, but will almost certainly have the contours of a great compromise. The signature is not there for now, so much so that the Gazzetta dello Sport summarized the situation like this:

“The negotiation between Hamilton and Mercedes for the renewal of the contract which expired two weeks ago has become a game of chess.”