The key answers on Hamilton's new Mercedes deal

Formula 1's biggest soap opera of the winter - Lewis Hamilton's contract talks - finally came to a conclusion on Monday morning when Mercedes announced it had signed an extension.

But the confirmation that the world champion would indeed be racing on at the Silver Arrows also prompted a fair amount of intrigue, with the Briton only agreeing a one-year deal.

Was that a sign of there being intransigence in the talks that meant a longer contract was simply not possible? Or was it a hint that Hamilton wants out of F1 if he takes a record-breaking eighth title this year?

Here, with insight from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, we pick through the key issues surrounding the contract to try to find out what is really going on.

What were the 'curveballs' in talks?

Wolff raised some eyebrows over the winter when he suggested in an interview with Austrian TV that there had been some 'curveballs' thrown into the mix over the Hamilton contract talks.

With both parties having been quite silent over the progress of their discussions, his words served to fuel the idea of there being some difficult hurdles to get across.

"The lawyers are working hard," he had said. "We don't make life easy for them, of course, when we both argue over Zoom and keep sending curveballs to the lawyers. But he's in America now and I'm here. At some point we will finalise it."

"We wanted to discuss the contract at the end of the season between the Bahrain races and then obviously, Lewis didn't feel well. In the end, we started our conversation just before Christmas" Toto Wolff

But explaining some background to what happened, Wolff said that the biggest issue was actually the difficulty of getting some momentum behind the talks because the pair of them were not in the same location.

In the past, they had cleared their diaries and thrashed out a new contract over a multi-hour meeting, but this time - with Hamilton in the United States and Wolff in Austria - video conferencing was the only way to do it. That had not been part of the original plan when they had hoped to get matters sorted between the two Bahrain races.

"The curveballs were meant about the situation of him having corona in the time that we expected to sit down face-to-face in Bahrain," explained Wolff.

"So this time it was more complex, because we couldn't see each other. But there were not huge gaps, or huge discrepancies, between how we would see this new contract. Overall, I think it was a few weeks that we spent on video conferencing, every couple of days. And then obviously, the lawyers need to put that into a contract."

Why is it only a one-year contract?

Hamilton has always viewed two-year contract extensions as the perfect blend of a bit of stability without the risk of getting locked into a long-term contract he is not happy with.

That is why many expected a new Mercedes deal to run for both 2021 and 2022, which would then take him into the new rules era that starts next year.

So it was a little bit of a surprise for Hamilton and Mercedes to only agree a one-year contract extension, which leaves the door open for more frantic contract negotiations again this season. But rather than there being any grander conspiracy behind the single year call, Wolff says it has boiled down to practicalities.

Amid the disrupted timings of their discussions, the bigger issues at play in the long-term meant that a post-2022 framework needed a bit more time.

"We jointly agreed on a one-year deal," said Wolff. "First of all, there is a substantial regulation change in 2022. We also want to see how the world develops, and the company. Plus on the other side, it's because we kept it very late.

"We wanted to discuss the contract at the end of the season between the Bahrain races and then obviously, Lewis didn't feel well. And in the end, we started our conversation just before Christmas.

"So it was important to get it done as soon as possible. And in that respect, we thought, let's postpone the discussion about 2022 and onwards to a later stage in 2021."

Wolff said that the ongoing uncertainties about the impact of coronavirus on F1, and especially in relation to team budgets, meant that it was difficult to make certain commitments now about a longer term contract.

That is why he feels contract talks next summer regarding 2022 and beyond will be much clearer - and will allow time for proper discussion.

"For me, he's the best driver. He has a huge global following, much beyond the racing fan. And he has won seven championships, without making major mistakes, in the last few years" Toto Wolff

"There are uncertainties in the world that affect the way that the sport can operate, that have an influence on our revenue, TV monies, and on sponsorship income," he added.

"Daimler, Mercedes, is in a huge transformation towards electric mobility and that means investments. So we are living in a financial reality that is very different to what it was a few years ago.

"But having said that, we are totally in line, Lewis and me and the wider group at Mercedes about the situation. So there was never any discrepancy in opinion.

"It was just that we felt we could get a good signature on the 2021 contract because we just need to get going and then find some time during 2021, earlier than this time around, to discuss the future. And it's not only specifically to 2022, but also beyond. And that is not something that we wanted to carve out via videoconferencing between Christmas and the end of January."

Was money a major sticking point?

An inevitable centre point of any contract talk between a driver and team is over money: with the superstar wanting as much as possible, and the team trying to bring down its spending.

While the delays in agreeing Hamilton's 2021 deal prompted some to think that wage demands were holding things up, Wolff says things played out very differently.

With transparency from Mercedes' side about the uncertainties it has regarding the company's long-term financial projections, Hamilton did not baulk at the situation.

"I don't think this was the hard topic," said Wolff about the money aspect. "We respect that a sports person has a shelf life, and that you need to optimise the outcome whilst being active. But on the other side, Lewis has a global perspective of what is going on out there, and he always recognised that."

Pushed on whether one side came out of the talks in a better place considering their starting point, Wolff said: "I'm not going to go into the details, but we have always been quite aligned of what the other side would expect.

"For me, he's the best driver. He has a huge global following, much beyond the racing fan. And he has won seven championships, without making major mistakes, in the last few years. Like many within the team, and the wider organisation, he's an important pillar of the team's success.

"And on the other side, Lewis also recognises that he is one of 2,000 that we have within our team, engine and chassis, and that it's not two superstars, but we are 2,000 superstars. And each of us contributes to the team's success.

"Then, he has this helicopter perspective on the wider world out there. It was a very tough year, for us personally, from a health standpoint, and also from an economic standpoint. So he knew that even though he has delivered on his side, there is an economic reality out there that is important to respect."

Did Hamilton demand a veto over team-mates?

The lack of an announcement about Hamilton's new contract had prompted speculation to run riot in some media quarters.

As well as wild talk of excessive wage demands, or arguments over a revenue share scheme, there had been some exposure to a supposed demand Hamilton had made for a veto over future teammates.

Several outlets had reported that Hamilton would only stay on if he had the right to reject any teammate he did not want - with the inference being that he would shut the door on Max Verstappen finding a way in.

"The truth is that there was not one second of discussion about any driver specific clause. He has never asked for that in the last eight years" Toto Wolff

But speaking on Monday, Wolff claimed such talks of vetos or excessive pay wishes were completely rubbish - as he said there was no risk of the talks ever looking like they were going to fall apart.

"There was never a moment where we thought he wouldn't [sign]," said Wolff. "On the specific clauses that were out there in the media, I don't know where they came from because none of that is true.

"I actually read about this, and I found it interesting, but the truth is that there was not one second of discussion about any driver specific clause. He has never asked for that in the last eight years. And it's a team decision.

"And the other clause about a revenue share: that came out of nowhere. That rumour was baseless, too. So none of that was ever part of our discussions."

How important was the diversity foundation?

One of the core components of the Hamilton contract announcement was that he and Mercedes had agreed to create a joint charitable foundation to support greater diversity and inclusion in motorsport.

Hamilton has been a strong campaigner on that front, but perhaps most interestingly the foundation move was not actually something he demanded for staying on at Mercedes - or even first proposed.

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As Wolff said: "The idea of the foundation, and credit where credit is due, came from [Mercedes CEO] Ola Kallenius, when we discussed between Lewis, Ola and myself.

"Lewis was enthusiastic about the idea. We are going to run it jointly, and it also shows that there is an alliance and a relationship much beyond 2021, but in the long term.

"As I said before, we've invested a substantial million Euro amount into the foundation, which is a real commitment from us to have an impact."

Indeed, as Wolff points out, the move towards the creation of a foundation opens the door for a more longer term relationship between Mercedes and Hamilton - rather than it being a token short term response.

"It is a multi-million investment into the foundation which we are going to run jointly," added Wolff.

"We felt it was a very important topic to address. We are already very active in that field as Mercedes and the specific projects need to be defined together. And that's not going to happen from one day to the other."

Does Hamilton want to stay in F1 after 2021?

The lack of a contract beyond the end of 2021 does, of course, mean the door is open for Hamilton to quit F1 if he does decide he no longer wants to continue.

Such a move would be something that Mercedes cannot rule out, because it is not in control of any such decision that Hamilton may take.

But with Valtteri Bottas well established, and George Russell a free agent at the end of the year, it already has a fallback option should Hamilton decide that he does not want to stick it out in F1.

The move towards the creation of a foundation opens the door for a more longer term relationship between Mercedes and Hamilton

Wolff said that the ultimate decision on Hamilton would come to do the man himself; but Mercedes would give him priority when it came to sorting out the seats for 2022.

"Lewis needs to decide what his future holds for him," said Wolf. "That's why I wouldn't want to comment on where Lewis stands.

"On the other side, the team needs to decide long-term what we are going to do about drivers. Valtteri and Lewis have our 100% commitment and loyalty for 2021. We will support them with everything we have. And we will then look beyond this year and say what is the line-up that we imagine in 2022 and onwards.

"Our first discussions are going to be with Valtteri and Lewis, in respecting our values of loyalty and integrity. But on the other side, the young drivers are the future, and therefore we need to consider how we want to set ourselves up for the years beyond."

When will the 2022 contract talks start?

The impact of coronavirus on Hamilton and Wolff proved to be the decisive factor in making the contract talks drag on much longer than they would have liked.

Ideally the pair would have thrashed out matters over a long chat in Bahrain and then headed into the winter with a provisional agreement in place. But circumstances meant that did not happen.

While there is not yet a timetable for when they hope to nail the 2022 deal by, Wolff is confident things will not drag on like they have this year.

"Definitely earlier than the 2021 deal," he said. "It's always tricky to find some time while racing, but we have learned the lesson that there could be external factors that can delay discussions.

"We don't want to end up in January again. We are going to pick up chatting about 2022 much earlier."