Lauda confirms Hamilton and Bottas line-up for 2019

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda is adamant that Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will be racing for the Silver Arrows squad in 2019.

Hamilton's negotiations with Mercedes have been lingering - and on the verge of a positive conclusion - since the end of last year, while his team mate required a bit of confirmation in the form of performance to merit an extension of his deal.

According to Lauda however, both men will be racing for Mercedes in the future.

• Pen and paper ready for Hamilton's $52M mega deal!

"I guarantee that in the coming year Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will drive for Mercedes," he told broadcaster ORF in Austria.

"That is settled," he confirmed.

Hamilton's new two-year contract is rumored to worth a whopping $50 million a year, a deal that would put him at the top of the UK's highest paid athletes' list.

Mercedes is expected to put the issue of its driver lune-up to rest this week, on the run-up to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

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