Lewis Hamilton - contract
Discussion
just a clean start for this.
Wonder how long its going to be before the new contract is announced?
Various reports have suggested money is a stumbling block or extra curricular activities, some say its tied to Toto so in pure speculation here are my thoughts.
Lewis will do 2021 whatever, 8 titles, thank you very much but its going to be a 1 year contract with an option for them to do 2022 together to be decided shortly after the first test of the 2022 cars. Lewis will also want the freedom to do more outside F1, he cant realistically race elsewhere but he loves bikes and if allowed he could do more bike stuff through 2021 building towards a wildcard ride in WSBK if his title was wrapped up early enough.
If the 2022 Merc looks competitive he has an option to stay on, if not he can go anywhere else, race almost anything else. I don't think money is a major factor, hes got enough of it. Not sure where Extreme E fits in, he wont be driving himself and wont have much free time to go to races.
I'm basing the above on Toto leaving Merc this year and moving to Aston Martin to have a year's input before 2022.
I cant see Merc allowing Toto to sign up for 1 year while being heavily involved with the 2022 car. If hes signs up 1 year his replacement is still within the team or will come in, take over 2022 development and shadow trackside. If Toto commits beyond 2021 then I expect Lewis' contract to match this duration.
Wonder how long its going to be before the new contract is announced?
Various reports have suggested money is a stumbling block or extra curricular activities, some say its tied to Toto so in pure speculation here are my thoughts.
Lewis will do 2021 whatever, 8 titles, thank you very much but its going to be a 1 year contract with an option for them to do 2022 together to be decided shortly after the first test of the 2022 cars. Lewis will also want the freedom to do more outside F1, he cant realistically race elsewhere but he loves bikes and if allowed he could do more bike stuff through 2021 building towards a wildcard ride in WSBK if his title was wrapped up early enough.
If the 2022 Merc looks competitive he has an option to stay on, if not he can go anywhere else, race almost anything else. I don't think money is a major factor, hes got enough of it. Not sure where Extreme E fits in, he wont be driving himself and wont have much free time to go to races.
I'm basing the above on Toto leaving Merc this year and moving to Aston Martin to have a year's input before 2022.
I cant see Merc allowing Toto to sign up for 1 year while being heavily involved with the 2022 car. If hes signs up 1 year his replacement is still within the team or will come in, take over 2022 development and shadow trackside. If Toto commits beyond 2021 then I expect Lewis' contract to match this duration.
A little insight on driver contracts may be of interest when thinking on this.
(I have in a previous life, dealt with a Lawyer who managed a few F1 drivers - interesting bloke!)
Firstly, the contract doesn't (or rarely) exist between team and driver. Hamilton has a company, registered in the UK I believe, of which he is a director along with his Dad and a handful of others. Hamilton provides himself via that company and thus it's this company that the team contracts. So when you see headlines along the lines of a $30m contract for Hamilton, that's the fee his company receives. Hamilton's personal income is drawn from that company. So he's not on the Mercedes payroll. It's likely that this $30m will also include travel and accommodation costs.
Despite what's reported, contract negotiations rarely falter on the level of fee. At a $30m starting point $5m either way is neither here or there. There have been some exceptions to this in the past - notably Mansell who walked from Williams saying that the cut in fee indicated a cut in their commitment.
The things that take time to sort and tend to be the subject of heated debate are things like performance clauses, personal appearance obligations, personal sponsorships, ticket allocations, who pays for the race suits and helmets and a host of other things all of which have to be carefully and precisely articulated in legal-speak. This can take a lot of time.
A bit different to the past. Jackie Stewart's first contract with Tyrrell was written on one side of an A4 sheet.
(I have in a previous life, dealt with a Lawyer who managed a few F1 drivers - interesting bloke!)
Firstly, the contract doesn't (or rarely) exist between team and driver. Hamilton has a company, registered in the UK I believe, of which he is a director along with his Dad and a handful of others. Hamilton provides himself via that company and thus it's this company that the team contracts. So when you see headlines along the lines of a $30m contract for Hamilton, that's the fee his company receives. Hamilton's personal income is drawn from that company. So he's not on the Mercedes payroll. It's likely that this $30m will also include travel and accommodation costs.
Despite what's reported, contract negotiations rarely falter on the level of fee. At a $30m starting point $5m either way is neither here or there. There have been some exceptions to this in the past - notably Mansell who walked from Williams saying that the cut in fee indicated a cut in their commitment.
The things that take time to sort and tend to be the subject of heated debate are things like performance clauses, personal appearance obligations, personal sponsorships, ticket allocations, who pays for the race suits and helmets and a host of other things all of which have to be carefully and precisely articulated in legal-speak. This can take a lot of time.
A bit different to the past. Jackie Stewart's first contract with Tyrrell was written on one side of an A4 sheet.
I can see it being a 2 year deal with an option for 3.
I don't see the motorbike thing. Bikes are fun for him, I don't think he wants to race them.
Similarly, I don't really think he's that fussed about racing elsewhere whilst committed to F1. Once he's retired from F1, I can see him giving NASCAR a go or something similar in the States.
I think he'll want commitments from Mercedes towards The Hamilton Commission and agreements/actions towards equality and environmental concerns.
He has enough money - whether it's $30m or $40m doesn't really make much difference.
Edit - I also can't really see Toto at Aston Martin, no matter what people say. At least in the role of Team Principal. What's the motivation for that when you've already surpassed all records as TP at Mercedes? I think he'll go upstairs and be Chairman or something, as he's said already.
I don't see the motorbike thing. Bikes are fun for him, I don't think he wants to race them.
Similarly, I don't really think he's that fussed about racing elsewhere whilst committed to F1. Once he's retired from F1, I can see him giving NASCAR a go or something similar in the States.
I think he'll want commitments from Mercedes towards The Hamilton Commission and agreements/actions towards equality and environmental concerns.
He has enough money - whether it's $30m or $40m doesn't really make much difference.
Edit - I also can't really see Toto at Aston Martin, no matter what people say. At least in the role of Team Principal. What's the motivation for that when you've already surpassed all records as TP at Mercedes? I think he'll go upstairs and be Chairman or something, as he's said already.
Edited by Muzzer79 on Monday 16th November 12:16
StevieBee said:
Firstly, the contract doesn't (or rarely) exist between team and driver. Hamilton has a company, registered in the UK I believe, of which he is a director along with his Dad and a handful of others
Wonder how much clearer F1 costs and contracts would be if the drivers had to be direct employees of the team. I'd guess the amount of tax paid by them would increase substantially.andburg said:
StevieBee said:
Firstly, the contract doesn't (or rarely) exist between team and driver. Hamilton has a company, registered in the UK I believe, of which he is a director along with his Dad and a handful of others
Wonder how much clearer F1 costs and contracts would be if the drivers had to be direct employees of the team. I'd guess the amount of tax paid by them would increase substantially.C350Akra said:
andburg said:
StevieBee said:
Firstly, the contract doesn't (or rarely) exist between team and driver. Hamilton has a company, registered in the UK I believe, of which he is a director along with his Dad and a handful of others
Wonder how much clearer F1 costs and contracts would be if the drivers had to be direct employees of the team. I'd guess the amount of tax paid by them would increase substantially.Muzzer79 said:
I can see it being a 2 year deal with an option for 3.
I don't see the motorbike thing. Bikes are fun for him, I don't think he wants to race them.
Similarly, I don't really think he's that fussed about racing elsewhere whilst committed to F1. Once he's retired from F1, I can see him giving NASCAR a go or something similar in the States.
I think he'll want commitments from Mercedes towards The Hamilton Commission and agreements/actions towards equality and environmental concerns.
He has enough money - whether it's $30m or $40m doesn't really make much difference.
Edit - I also can't really see Toto at Aston Martin, no matter what people say. At least in the role of Team Principal. What's the motivation for that when you've already surpassed all records as TP at Mercedes? I think he'll go upstairs and be Chairman or something, as he's said already.
This. I've a cousin who works at Brackley who used to be part of the away team and you are away from home a lot. It takes it's toll in the end.I don't see the motorbike thing. Bikes are fun for him, I don't think he wants to race them.
Similarly, I don't really think he's that fussed about racing elsewhere whilst committed to F1. Once he's retired from F1, I can see him giving NASCAR a go or something similar in the States.
I think he'll want commitments from Mercedes towards The Hamilton Commission and agreements/actions towards equality and environmental concerns.
He has enough money - whether it's $30m or $40m doesn't really make much difference.
Edit - I also can't really see Toto at Aston Martin, no matter what people say. At least in the role of Team Principal. What's the motivation for that when you've already surpassed all records as TP at Mercedes? I think he'll go upstairs and be Chairman or something, as he's said already.
Edited by Muzzer79 on Monday 16th November 12:16
2fast748 said:
Eddie Irvine was an on the books employee of Ford when he drove for Jaguar according to a tale I read somewhere. Fords top boss was looking at a list of employees salaries and is alleged to have said "Who the hell is Ed Irvine?" because Eddie's £/$ 6M salary stood out like a sore thumb.
That’s a good one! The big boss would presumably be in almost day-to-day contact with everyone else in the company on that size of a salary. Re: Lewis’ contract, as others have said it will be all about the non-driving stuff such as the number of sponsor days, his own sponsorship, image rights, extra-curricular activities (no bike racing!) etc. - all that non-driving stuff that constitutes their actual “work”.
I think a new two year deal with an option for a third year makes logical sense.
If Mercedes nail the new regulations in 2022 then he can take up the option, or just walk away after one season if they get it wrong. Should Mercedes build a great car then he could quite easily be staring down the barrel of title number 10 by taking a one year extension to 2023. That would be the perfect time to sign off and I think its entirely possible he could get there.
I do however sense a lot of Hamilton's desire depends on Toto staying. If Toto made 2021 his final one with Mercedes then you may well find they have a one season 'last dance' kind of deal for Lewis and Toto with the aim of them bowing out at the top before the new regs arrive.
If Mercedes nail the new regulations in 2022 then he can take up the option, or just walk away after one season if they get it wrong. Should Mercedes build a great car then he could quite easily be staring down the barrel of title number 10 by taking a one year extension to 2023. That would be the perfect time to sign off and I think its entirely possible he could get there.
I do however sense a lot of Hamilton's desire depends on Toto staying. If Toto made 2021 his final one with Mercedes then you may well find they have a one season 'last dance' kind of deal for Lewis and Toto with the aim of them bowing out at the top before the new regs arrive.
TwentyFive said:
I do however sense a lot of Hamilton's desire depends on Toto staying.
A bet Toto had a look at the 2021 calendar, looked at his 3 year old son and thought long and hard about how much longer he wants or feels the need to do it.The travel must take its toll, he can't be far from moving to an executive position where he gets a lot more time at home with his family.
StevieBee said:
Hamilton has a company, registered in the UK I believe
I think you knew your lawyer a long time ago, before the advent of IR35!Hamilton does not have a UK registered company, because he doesn't want to pay UK tax. That's why he is based in the tax haven of Monaco, which does not levy personal income tax, whereas if Hamilton had his UK company, then the company would be paying tax, and Hamilton would be paying tax on any salary/dividends from the company. The latter 2 as an additional rate taxpayer, given his income!
His tax status is topical at the moment, because it might be a bar to his knighthood.
LucyP said:
I think you knew your lawyer a long time ago, before the advent of IR35!
Hamilton does not have a UK registered company, because he doesn't want to pay UK tax. That's why he is based in the tax haven of Monaco, which does not levy personal income tax, whereas if Hamilton had his UK company, then the company would be paying tax, and Hamilton would be paying tax on any salary/dividends from the company. The latter 2 as an additional rate taxpayer, given his income!
His tax status is topical at the moment, because it might be a bar to his knighthood.
Hamilton is one of the top 5000 tax payers in the UK. The whole tax aspect is complete misinformation and wouldn't bar his knighthood because its simply not accurate. He has contributed more financially to the UK than most of us on here ever will combined. He also takes out virtually nothing from the public purse by virtue of not living in the UK despite his massive contribution.Hamilton does not have a UK registered company, because he doesn't want to pay UK tax. That's why he is based in the tax haven of Monaco, which does not levy personal income tax, whereas if Hamilton had his UK company, then the company would be paying tax, and Hamilton would be paying tax on any salary/dividends from the company. The latter 2 as an additional rate taxpayer, given his income!
His tax status is topical at the moment, because it might be a bar to his knighthood.
My opinion is as follows:
Firstly on the money side. People here are saying money doesn't matter to him, 30 or 40million is no different. I disagree with that completely. Hamilton believes he can make a change to this world for the better. He's setting up charities and the like, he will want every penny he can get, not for himself, but for the causes he supports.
Secondly he is a guy who wants a challenge. I think he will sign a one year contract, go for title number 8, and if he is safely crowned champion again, he can relax knowing he is unlikely to be beaten in his lifetime. Then i believe, he will look to address the nay-sayers who say he has only won because he's in the best car. So he will switch to a non winning team and look to take them to the top. If he succeeds, he's proven himself at another level and removed one possible criticism from his record. If he fails, heck he's still 8 times champion. where will he go? Well, who doesn't want to win a championship at Ferrari?
Firstly on the money side. People here are saying money doesn't matter to him, 30 or 40million is no different. I disagree with that completely. Hamilton believes he can make a change to this world for the better. He's setting up charities and the like, he will want every penny he can get, not for himself, but for the causes he supports.
Secondly he is a guy who wants a challenge. I think he will sign a one year contract, go for title number 8, and if he is safely crowned champion again, he can relax knowing he is unlikely to be beaten in his lifetime. Then i believe, he will look to address the nay-sayers who say he has only won because he's in the best car. So he will switch to a non winning team and look to take them to the top. If he succeeds, he's proven himself at another level and removed one possible criticism from his record. If he fails, heck he's still 8 times champion. where will he go? Well, who doesn't want to win a championship at Ferrari?
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff