If the press is to be believed these days and you’re in the mood to lend rumors some credence, then you could be hearing about a new £40million per year deal for Lewis Hamilton. I can’t keep track of all the enormously compensated British footballers and athletes but my hunch is, this would be the highest paid of them all or at least close to it.
In our season preview, I asked Paul what it takes for a driver like Lewis or Sebastian Vettel to keep the momentum going each year for another title. Paul said a driver has to find new motivation each year to keep burning the wick as hot as it can go and finding that motivation is key. Perhaps a new contract is motivation enough for Lewis if he knows he’s set for a Mercedes ride through the 2020 season.
‘It doesn’t feel like the start of the final chapter, and I don’t feel as though I am about to embark on my last contract,’ Hamilton said.
‘I am not sure how I will feel in two or three years’ time but I am back here in March for my 12th season and I am so excited.
‘I don’t know where it comes from – this feeling of just wanting to excel – but I really, really, more than anything currently in my life, want to excel next weekend.
‘I want to arrive in Melbourne fit. I want to hit my target weight. I want to kill it through practice, get pole position and I want to win the race convincingly.
‘I don’t know how long this feeling is going to last when I go into a new season, but as long as I am still feeling like this I will keep going.’
A lot of things happen in 2020. A new set of regulations possibly, a new prize money compensation scheme and perhaps teams leaving or joining. It all depends on what Liberty Media can deliver over the next 12 to 18 months. If there was a clean jumping off point for teams, this would be it and if you were a driver like Lewis or Seb, perhaps this might also be a jumping off point as the German’s contract expires in 2020 as well.
I suspect Lewis will be ready to roll and defend his title. The motivation is to beat Vettel to a fifth title as both sit on four world championship each. If testing is any indicator, then Lewis may just start the season off with a bang but perhaps Red Bull and Ferrari have an answer for him? Time will tell and when I say time, I mean six days!
Hat Tip: Mail Online
So, that translates to $55M per year, practically unheard of in American sports, last I checked. How can anyone be worth that much?
They wouldn’t pay him that much unless he was making a lot of people rich as well.
Your point escapes me why some people don’t realize that.
I have no problem with Lewis getting what he can get. Is one person worth that much though, imho, no.
And some are upset about LM spending $50M on 150 people…..
It gets worse Paul, check this link out, Alonso and Raikonnen are getting $40m, and Vettel $60m!
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/905045/F1-2018-salary-paid-most-driver-salaries-Lewis-Hamilton-sportgalleries
I’d love to see the business case that gets put up to justify those numbers.
May be JAKO can confirm from being nearer down there, I do not know how accurate they are but “bon.au/vic/forcasts/melborn. Shtml” are forecasting 1-4mm of rain for Saturday. This rain would have been more effective if it came yesterday in Sidney.
The accuweather site is normally pretty good.
From that it looks like a high chance (70+%) of showers right across the weekend.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/au/melbourne/26216/daily-weather-forecast/26216?day=7
That could mix things up a bit.
The weather in Melbourne is really changeable at this time of year. I went to the 2013 GP. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were disrupted by rain, Qualification was rained off on the Saturday, and had to be completed on the Sunday morning.
Then the race took place in the blazing sunshine.
Basically, weatherwise, anything could happen.
We all love a rain affected weekend but not for the first few races, we all want to work-out the pecking order, so RAIN GO AWAY.
Last non RB, Mercedes, FERRARI win was 5 years ago, Kimi with Renault.
Some teams/drivers are gong to have to use tyres that they didn’t or hardly have used in testing if its a dry race.
Yes Kimi, but in a Lotus. They hadn’t been sold back the Renault in 2013.
Have you heard the missed apex podcast interviews with Mathew Carter? He was the Lotus CEO in that era.
You’re right about the rain though. It is looking like it will be a rain affected weekend. So we (and the teams) will still be wondering how the cars rank come Monday.
No I didn’t heard that Carter podcast. but I just read something very interesting, Zakspeak says he is going to miss Japan, could be he is feeling unwelcomed in Japan.
The Matthew Carter podcasts are really interesting. I highly recommend them.
https://youtu.be/5OwU5qfmo6o
Maybe he doesn’t want to give Honda a chance to laugh at him. Then again that could easily go the other way too.
just makes it more likely Hamilton will win. He’s pretty much unbeatable in the rain by any of the other current drivers.
Are you, by any chance, a Hamilton fan?
No, not just a fan, this type are called HAMFOSI they all got a picture of him in their bedroom.
I hadn’t realized that Vettel and Verstappen retired!?
You ain’t worth it bro.