Mercedes F1 team reveals two BIG reasons behind short 1-year deal with Lewis Hamilton

After months of dithering, Mercedes-AMG Petronas finally announced the extension of their partnership with Lewis Hamilton on February 8. While Hamilton's contract with the side ended on January 1 this year, it was more or less understood that the 7-time World Champion would make his way back to the Mercedes F1 team for the upcoming season. While fans are understandably overjoyed (seeing as Hamilton's only alternative had he chosen not to go with Mercedes was retirement), the short span of the new Hamilton-Mercedes deal has left many wondering where the champion will head to in 2022.

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Why is the new Hamilton Mercedes deal so short?

That Lewis Hamilton was going to rejoin the Mercedes F1 team was never a real doubt in most minds. The 7-time champion would have caused some sort of emergency in the sport had he decided to forego a chance to create history and win his 8th title by retiring when he is still driving the way he is. However, unlike Hamilton's old deal with Mercedes, this year's single-year contract does mean that the British driver may be eyeing a break from the sport after making his records in 2021.

Going by the interviews both Hamilton and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff have given since Monday, a few reasons come to the fore for this decision. Firstly, Wolff attributed the smaller deal to the lack of face to face negotiation time that resulted from a busy end-of-year schedule and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also talked about how the parties' mutual trust in wanting to continue the deal to at least 2021 meant that negotiations between them only began late in December 2020.

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This, coupled with Hamilton's stint with COVID meant that there wasn't enough time to commit to anything long-term. "We jointly agreed on a one-year deal," Wolff said. Explaining further, he also mentioned that according to the latest F1 news, the side was expecting "substantial regulation change in 2022" which, along with other "uncertainties in the world" can affect the way that the sport can operate and can have an influence on revenue. All this, of course, points to the undeniable new issue most sports teams are facing — a lack of funds.

"Mercedes is in a huge transformation. So we are living in a financial reality that is very different to what it was a few years ago," Wolff admitted. However, he clarified that there had been no fallout between the drivers and the management. "We are totally in line. There was never any discrepancy in opinion, it's just that we got a good signature on the 2021 contract because we need to get going and then find some time during to 2021 to discuss the future," Wolff said. Hamilton will next be seen driving for Mercedes at the Bahrain GP. 

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Image Credits: AP