Lewis Hamilton hopes to sign new Mercedes contract 'in coming weeks'

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton says he is in talks over a new contract with Mercedes and remains hopeful it will be sorted out “in the coming weeks.”

The F1 great is out of contract at the end of the year. Hamilton has been linked by some media reports with a potential move to Ferrari should he decide not to re-sign with Mercedes.

But the 38-year-old British driver said on Thursday at the Monaco Grand Prix that there has been no approach from Ferrari, and his team is working things out with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

“Naturally, in contract negotiations there's always going to be speculation,” Hamilton said. “My team's working closely behind the scenes with Toto. We're almost at the end of having a contract ready."

Hamilton, with 103 grand prix wins, was pressed further as to when the contract might be signed.

“That’s what we’re working towards, so hopefully in the coming weeks," he said. “I've got a great team in the background doing all the work.

Hamilton was relieved he no longer does his own negotiating.

“Having the team focus on that so I can just do my job, that’s a much better position that I was in before,” he said. "Because I remember I used to do my negotiations on my own, and it was very stressful.”

The long-awaited upgrades have arrived for Mercedes