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Hamilton relaxed about Mercedes contract

ESPN Staff
January 21, 2015 « Ferrari offers preview of 2015 challenger | Force India unveils VJM08 livery »
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Lewis Hamilton says he has "no stress" about the fact he is yet to sign a contract extension at Mercedes due to the mutual trust between himself and the team.

Hamilton's contract runs until the end of this season but extension talks were put on hold last year following his collision with team-mate Nico Rosberg in Belgium to allow the Brit to focus on the championship, which he went on to win. Mercedes and Hamilton are in no hurry to discuss a new deal but team boss Toto Wolff admitted McLaren's Fernando Alonso would be a target if a deal could not be reached.

Despite this, Hamilton says he has no doubts he and the team will reach an agreement and that the situation is not concerning him ahead of his title defence.

"We said last year we're relaxed; the team has acknowledged they want to continue with me and visa versa," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "There's no stress - I'm comfortable and confident and trust they're not speaking to anyone else and they know that's the case with me too. I've not been back [to the factory]. As soon as I left the last race, I've been back at the factory for a couple of days, but I haven't sat down with the team."

Mercedes will launch its 2015 title-defending car in the Jerez pit lane before the first day of winter testing but Hamilton insists he and the team are not resting on their laurels despite its dominant campaign last year.

"I've not driven it, but from the looks it looks nice!" Hamilton said about the W06. "I know the team and engineers are working hard. I have faith Mercedes has done an amazing job. We will have learned a lot last year and I think going into this year people like Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, we expect them to be serious rivals this year. We go into this season by no means thinking about last season and winning the championship - we want to win this year."

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