Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Wolff: New Hamilton deal crucial to success

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Mercedes' head of motorsport Toto Wolff says a new deal for Lewis Hamilton was crucial to ensure the team can continue to be successful.

Hamilton's new three-year contract was confirmed on Wednesday in Monaco following months of negotiations, with the reigning world champion committing himself to the team until 2018. Wolff says it was important Mercedes retained the driver line-up which had been so successful last season - with Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg winning 16 of 19 races - and hints Mercedes has increased Hamilton's wage to retain him.

"Continuity is one of the key factors for delivering success in Formula One and we now have that in place," Wolff said. "Lewis enjoyed an historic World Championship season with Mercedes-Benz last year and it was a priority for this season to renew his contract for the next term.

"We have taken the right amount of time with the process and not rushed ourselves. The result is a strong agreement that will enhance Lewis' association with the Mercedes-Benz brand, and that recognises and respects the market value of Lewis and of Mercedes in Formula One."

And Wolff says Hamilton's presence within the team has been positive for Mercedes-Benz as a whole.

"Lewis' sporting track record speaks for itself and he is a great personality for the company. Personally, I am looking forward to continuing to race with the strongest driver pairing in Formula One and to more historic achievements together."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.