Lewis Hamilton has put pen to paper on a new deal with Mercedes, which will see him remaining with the Silver Arrows until 2020. Hamilton looked set to become a free agent at the end of the year before extending his time and retaining his place as the highest paid British sportsman.
Hamilton has won three of his four titles at Mercedes, a major influence in them keeping Lewis on the team and essentially meaning the contract signing was a simple formality after Toto Wolff sat down with Lewis and discussed the future of Mercedes racing.
The deal is set to be worth £40m annually, keeping the racer among the elite of F1 drivers alongside Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso of McLaren.
How Much Are the top F1 drivers worth?
Three Formula 1 megastars have made the Forbes sports rich list in 2018. They find themselves amongst the world top footballers, boxers and basketball players and they are the names you can imagine.
The exact figures the top racers earn is determined by various sponsorship and performance-related bonuses, so their exact worth is estimated accordingly. Even before his contract renewal, Hamilton was listed as the 12th highest-earning athlete by Forbes magazine and we can imagine his new contract will surely lift him into the top 10.
The only other British sports star to make the top-25 is boxer Anthony Joshua, with Gareth Bale making position 35 as the highest-paid British footballer.
Whose Contract Is Up Next?
Hamilton’s new contract puts him in sync with Ferrari’s Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who are both under contract with their corresponding team until the end of the 2020 season.
The Mercedes signing is expected to have a domino effect in the F1 market as a number of other racers, like Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, have been waiting to see the outcome of other possible avenues before singing new deals at their current teams.
