Lewis Hamilton puts F1 speculation to bed with two-year extension with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton has put speculation of his Formula 1 future to bed as Mercedes announced their seven-time world champion will remain at the team, alongside George Russell, from 2024 to 2025. 

Mercedes has finally announced that Hamilton and Russell will remain at the Silver Arrows, continuing their partnership through both 2024 and 2025. 

Speculation has surrounded Hamilton, who was on his last season with the team in his current contract, as it was unclear if the seven-time world champion would hang up his race boots and call it a day on the sport. However, the most successful F1 driver of all time will continue on for another two seasons. 

Hamilton joined the team in 2013, alongside Nico Rosberg, and since then he obtained 82 race victories, 78 pole positions and six world titles. Hamilton played an important part to Mercedes’ success in the sport as he helped the team secure eight-consecutive world titles from 2014 to 2021. 

On the news of his contract, Hamilton said:

“We dream everyday of being the best and we have dedicated the past decade together to achieving that goal. Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time, it takes commitment, hard work and dedication and it’s been an honour to earn our way into the history books with this incredible team. 

“We have never been hungrier to win. We have learnt from every success but also every setback. We continue to chase our dreams, we continue to fight no matter the challenge and we will win again. 

“I’m grateful to the team who have supported me both on and off the track. Our story isn’t finished, we are determined to achieve more together and we won’t stop until we do.” 

Russell will also join Hamilton as the British pairing continues until 2025. The 25-year-old driver, from Kings Lynn, joined the works team in the junior programme, securing championships in both the GP3 and Formula 2 categories on his way into Formula 1. 

The #63 Mercedes started his F1 career in Williams during the 2019 world championship season before he joined the team in 2022, replacing Valtteri Bottas who moved over to Alfa Romeo that season, and secured his maiden victory at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Russell said:

“I have grown up with this team ever since joining as part of the Junior programme back in 2017. It’s my home and it feels fantastic to extend our special relationship through 2025. 

“After stepping up to the Mercedes race seat last year, I wanted to reward the trust and belief that Toto and the rest of the team placed in me. Taking my first pole position and race win last year was an unforgettable feeling. More importantly though, it’s been great to work with everybody at Brackley and Brixworth to make progress with our car and push forward our development. Their loyalty, vision and hard work is inspiring. 

“We have made some significant steps over the last 18 months and are only getting stronger as a team. I’m excited to help continue to build on that momentum as we progress into 2024 and 2025 as we continue to focus on returning to the very front of the pack.” 

On the decision to keep the retain the same driver line up for the next two seasons, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Prinicpal and CEO, Toto Wolff said the decision was ‘a straightforward decision.’ He said:

“Continuing with our current driver line-up was a straightforward decision. We have the strongest pairing on the grid and both drivers are playing a crucial role in the team to move us forward. The strength and stability they provide will be key building blocks for our future success.”

That’s all for the article: Lewis Hamilton puts F1 speculation to bed with two-year extension with Mercedes!

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.