Despite a lack of success this season, Lewis Hamilton remains one of the bigger draws in Formula One racing. He's got an impressive portfolio, winning seven world championships and 103 races overall. But his current contract with Mercedes is up at the end of this season, which opened the door for a potentially seismic shift in the racing landscape.
Earlier this year, Ferrari offered Hamilton a deal worth nearly $50 million to join their team. That would be a pretty nice increase for Hamilton, who is earning a little more than $36.4 million this year. He also has a bonus worth about $18.8 million for winning the title, though with the way the season is unfolding, that looks more and more unlikely.
Hamilton, 38, was seeking a long-term contract and wanted that bonus to be included in his regular salary. Mercedes wasn't willing to give in to his demands quite so easily — though the two sides did just agree to a deal that puts the Ferrari offer to shame.
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Mercedes and Hamilton aligned on a two-year contract extension. The move will keep Hamilton with the team through 2025. Though no financial details were given, there are reports that the deal could be worth 50 million pounds, or $63.41 million, per year. That's a sizable pay raise from his previous contract.
Hamilton was also hoping for a brand ambassador role with Mercedes. He's driven for the team since 2013 and has had great success in Mercedes cars. Hamilton was asking for a 10-year deal worth about $25 million per year in return for being a brand ambassador. It appears that Mercedes wasn't willing to offer Hamilton that type of deal, though his contract will pay him about half of what he was looking for as an ambassador.
The new contract also makes Hamilton perhaps the richest racer in Formula One. Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen — who's on track to win a third title this season — makes a reported $55 million per year and has been quite valuable to his team.
As the contract negotiations continued to drag on throughout the year, there were rumblings that Hamilton might retire from F1 entirely. But as he said at the Italian Grand Prix: "You're all stuck with me for a little bit longer."
