- Mercedes
Mercedes hopes for Hamilton deal by Melbourne
Toto Wolff says Mercedes hopes to wrap up Lewis Hamilton's contract extension before the 2015 season begins in Melbourne on March 15.
World champion Hamilton is yet to extend his Mercedes deal beyond the current season, with talks put on hold last year so he could focus on the championship. Hamilton recently admitted "sticky parts" in the contract still need to be resolved before a new deal can be signed.
While Wolff hopes the talks will be finalised by the first race of the season he is wary of putting Mercedes or its driver under needless pressure before the season begins.
"It is always beneficial you have a clear situation, for the driver and ourselves,' Wolff is quoted as saying by the Press Association. "That is the best case, but you want to get it right as well, so it needs time. There is no reason for us to believe it is not going to go in the way we think is right, and Lewis thinks is right.
"Therefore we should aim to finish the discussions before the start of the season. But this is not a deadline we have set ourselves because the moment you set deadlines you put yourself under pressure, and we don't want to put him or us under pressure."
Wolff says the discussions with Hamilton, who is negotiating his own terms after splitting with management company XIX Entertainment last year, are going as well as can be expected.
"Contract discussions are extremely important, both for Lewis and ourselves. It's about discussing how the next couple of years are going to go. This is not something that happens from one day to the other, and you cannot expect it to be easy. But because of the great relationship we enjoy with Lewis and the very transparent way we deal with each other, so far it has been very good.
"We have been very open and honest with the way we see the future panning out, and he has been the same. He is an intelligent driver, has developed as a personality - I hope we have played our part - and so far the discussions have been as expected."
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