[Artemis]

"Hamilton offers update on his F1 future after media reports link him to Ferrari
25 May 2023 - https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...r7Vni31uL.html
Lewis Hamilton has brushed aside speculation over his F1 future in the wake of reports linking him to Ferrari, revealing that a new contract with Mercedes is “almost ready” to be signed.
Hamilton is in the final year of his latest Mercedes agreement, penned back in 2021, with rumours ahead of the Monaco race weekend suggesting that Ferrari were preparing a huge bid to lure him away.
However, the seven-time world champion insists the discussions that began with Mercedes earlier this year remain on track, while denying suggestions of any contact between himself and Ferrari.
“I think naturally when you’re in contract negotiations there’s always going to be speculation,” said Hamilton. “Unless you hear it from me, then that’s what it is.”
As for how his talks with Mercedes are progressing, Hamilton hopes the process will be concluded in the “coming weeks”, continuing: “My team is working closely behind the scenes with Toto [Wolff], we’re almost at the end of having the contract ready.
“Having the team focus on that, so I can just do my job, is a much better position than I was in before. I remember I used to do all the negotiations on my own, and it was very stressful, so I don’t have to do that anymore.”
With one of Ferrari’s two current drivers, Charles Leclerc, also present during Friday’s press conference in Monaco, the home favourite was asked for his take on the reports, and the prospect of racing alongside Hamilton.
“If I say yes, I imagine it being the title of every newspaper!” Leclerc smiled. “I mean Lewis is such an incredible driver and he has achieved so much in the sport.
“I think anybody on the grid would love to have Lewis as a team mate, as everybody will learn a lot from him. But I’m happy where I am and with Carlos [Sainz] it’s a great relationship too.”
Turning the attention back to the on-track action, this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix will see Mercedes introduce their much-awaited upgrade package, which features revised sidepods.
“It will be difficult to see just how it works at this kind of track, but I’m hopeful that it puts us a little bit closer to these guys,” Hamilton said of the changes. “I don’t think we’ll be fighting for a win necessarily, but hopefully we’ll be more in the fight.”
Mercedes head into the Monte Carlo event sitting third in the constructors’ standings, between second-placed Aston Martin and fourth-placed Ferrari, while Hamilton and team mate George Russell hold fourth and sixth in the drivers’ battle."

‘We are not sending him an offer’ – Vasseur issues firm denial over Hamilton-to-Ferrari rumours
26 May 2023 - https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...PVZWDBLvH.html
Frederic Vasseur has made it clear that Ferrari have neither submitted an offer nor held talks with Lewis Hamilton over a potential deal amid a flurry of speculation in the build-up to the Monaco Grand Prix.
Earlier this week, media outlets reported that Ferrari were preparing a bumper contract to present to Hamilton, with the seven-time world champion in the final year of his latest agreement at Mercedes.
However, Hamilton denied there had been any talks with Ferrari, while stressing that a new Mercedes deal is “almost ready” to be signed, adding “there’s always going to be speculation” in the F1 paddock.
Sharing Ferrari’s side of the story, Team Principal Vasseur pointed to recent reports linking his current drivers – Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc – to rival outfits and cracked a joke in response to the latest rumours involving Hamilton.
“I could say two weeks ago you [the media] sent Sainz to Audi and one week ago you sent Leclerc to Mercedes, and now I am alone!” said Vasseur, who was Hamilton’s team boss for his title-winning GP2 season at ART Grand Prix in 2006.
“But you know that at this stage of the season you will have each week a different story. We are not sending an offer to Lewis Hamilton – we didn’t do it.”
Pushed on whether no offer also means no talks, Vasseur, like Hamilton, stated: “We didn’t have discussions. I think every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage, but it would be b******t to not say something like this.
“If I have discussed with Hamilton, I have discussed the last 20 years… I have discussed almost every single weekend with Hamilton. I don’t want to have to stop having discussions with him because you are chasing me.”
Ferrari pair Sainz and Leclerc are both contracted through 2024 and Vasseur added that the time for conversations over their futures will come in due course.
“I told you last week or two weeks ago that the most important for us is to stay focused on the development and the current season,” added Vasseur. “In a couple of months, we’ll have a slot to discuss about the future, and it will be time to discuss.”