Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton extends his contract with Mercedes until 2025

Lewis Hamilton continue l'aventure avec Mercedes et Toto Wolff. HOCH ZWEI – HOCH ZWEI

The Englishman, seven-time Formula 1 world champion, extended his contract by two years, Thursday August 31, with the Mercedes team

Lewis Hamilton, seven-time Formula 1 world champion, has extended his contract with the Mercedes team by two years, until the end of the 2025 season, announced the German manufacturer Thursday. The announcement, which was a long time coming, ends months of speculation surrounding the driver's future in F1. The Briton will continue to team up with compatriot George Russell, who joined the team at the start of 2022 on a 'long-term contract'.< /p>

Lewis is here to stay. 🖤😍 pic.twitter.com/U6eBNcU8KT

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 31, 2023

"Our story is not over, we are determined to achieve more together and we won't stop until we get there," said Hamilton in a press release published on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix contested this weekend in Monza. "We've never wanted to win so much. We learned from every success, but also from every failure,” he continued, while he only finished 6th in the drivers' championship in 2022, his worst ranking since its debut in the premier category.

A white season in 2022

After the disillusionment of the title lost at the last GP of 2021 against the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton even experienced last year the very first white season of his career since 2007: it is without pole position or victory, he who holds the record for each, that the Briton completed the 2022 vintage. In question, a Mercedes which had difficulty adapting to the technical upheaval which came into force at the start of the season .

George Russell, the cumbersome teammate

Hamilton has also seen his almost unchallenged domination of recent years undermined by his young teammate George Russell, 25, very consistent in performance, who finished the 2022 season in 4th place. This season, the seven-time champion is still looking for a first victory against the powerful Max Verstappen and the incredible return to the forefront of the double Spanish world champion Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). Hamilton is currently in 4th place in the general classification.

Six titles with Mercedes

Arriving in F1 in 2007 with McLaren, Lewis Hamilton, 38, was world champion for the first time with the British team upon his debut in 2008 at the age of 23. Since 2013 at Mercedes, the driver with 103 GP victories has pushed the limits of his discipline by winning six other world titles, from 2014 to 2020.