Lewis Hamilton, the reigning Formula One champion, has signed a new three-year deal with Mercedes, German motor company, ending a protracted contract saga.
The new deal is worth £100 million, which makes the 30-year-old the richest sportsman in the United Kingdom.
Hamilton’s previous three-year deal worth £21m-a-season expires at the end of the current campaign but has been extended till the end of the 2018 campaign.
The deal comes six months after he won his second world title with Mercedes in Abu Dhabi in November, following his initial success with McLaren in 2008.
The new deal makes Hamilton, along with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (£34m, but for his first season only) and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso (estimated £25m), the best-paid drivers in F1.
“Mercedes is my home and I couldn’t be happier to be staying here for another three years,” Hamilton said.
“This is a company filled with real passionate racers, from the board room to the factory floor, and an incredible hunger to win.
“Even after the success of last year, that hunger is greater than ever – and it’s the same for me, too. The Mercedes car I am driving right now is the best I have ever had in my career; it’s just so much fun to be out there every weekend, on the limit and fighting to win at every track.
“Mercedes-Benz began supporting me in 1998 so I am very proud that this contract means I will mark 20 years with Mercedes in 2018.”
He already has a deal with IWC, the luxury Swiss watchmakers, and stars in extra-curricular advertising work for Mercedes’ road car division, with whom he has signed a separate extension.
His Mercedes salary beats Wales playmaker Gareth Bale’s £23m wages at Real Madrid and suppresses the £16m in winnings and endorsements earned by golf superstar Rory McIlroy last year.
Hamilton has won 15 of 43 races since he joined Mercedes in 2013, winning his second world championship at last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
The new deal means Hamilton will be almost 34 by the time it comes to an end. It is an age when drivers, even those as good as Hamilton, are forced to consider how long they have left in the sport.
Since joining Mercedes in 2013, the 30-year-old has won 15 grands prix wins and last year’s world championship.
Hamilton is the richest sportsman in Britain with a fortune of £88m, according to the 2015 Sunday Times Sport Rich List.
Hamilton goes into Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix leading the world championship, 20 points ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, who announced an extended deal last year.
Hamilton could earn more than £1.5 million for every race, and an astonishing £640,000 a week. The reigning champion becomes the best-paid driver in the sport, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, and, even more extraordinarily, could earn five times more than Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler-Benz, if he achieves all his performance bonuses.
Anthony Nlebem
@AnthonyNlebem
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