Mercedes could be morally holding Sir Lewis Hamilton to ransom over his contract negotiations, according to Dutch Grand Prix chief Jan Lammers.
Toto Wolff’s latest words this week on Mercedes’ protracted discussions with the seven-time World Champion driver were that a deal could be signed “soon” but that it will probably not extend to three years.
It is certainly dragging on, for pre-season testing in Bahrain is now less than six weeks away – closer than the final race of last year, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Various explanations have been suggested externally for the delay, most of which are based on the financial side.
Lammers thinks Mercedes could be taking the moral high ground in regard to constraints caused by the global health pandemic and also the new Formula 1 budget cap, which means the team are having to streamline their staff and redeploy resources.
Hamilton did, however, cite the effects of the pandemic as a reason why he had not rushed into contract talks last year.
