Lewis Hamilton’s contract negotiations with Mercedes were said to have been compromised by his absence from the penultimate race last season, believes Mark Webber.
The seven-time world champion missed out on the Sakhir Grand Prix after a positive test for Covid-19. Mercedes junior driver George Russell replaced him and led much of the race before a pit stop error and a puncture pushed him back.
While Hamilton is widely expected to reach an agreement with Mercedes to compete for them again in the 2021 F1 season, Webber pointed out that Russell’s strong display in his car will weaken Hamilton’s ability to command the maximum possible price for his services .
“The timing for Lewis was just horrible,” Webber told the podcast At The Controls.
“I drove 1,000 days in a Formula 1 car with tests and training and grand prizes and weekends. The whole thing came together over 12 years, if you look at how many real physical days in the car, I think I had three days off, because I don’t want anyone close to my car.
“You are just trying to look at the price of your own shares. You don’t want people to have exposure to your material and your people. And it is such a cruel industry. Even someone like Lewis, that was all a disadvantage for him, in general. “
Webber believes that Russell performed well enough for Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff to use this to his advantage in his dealings with Hamilton.
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“George drove well. Yes, it was the easiest track in the world. It wasn’t exactly Suzuka. But he still drove brilliantly in an ergonomically compromised environment in the car.
“Toto certainly likes the tightrope in terms of playing the game with many different things in the pit lane. And that was another one in which it seems to have gone in his favor. “
Hamilton’s new deal with Mercedes could also be complicated by the possible introduction of a driver’s salary cap in the future, added Webber.
“Obviously, he and Toto have a very good relationship. I think they would have liked to be nipped in the bud now.
“But obviously, the time around certain things, particularly your virus at the very end and this [salary] cap, which is coming up for drivers in the future, if that is going to hold you in the back of your [deal] – depending on the length of the contract, of course, it will not start next year – but looking at how it would potentially challenge the end of your contract in terms of what the numbers would look like. So, I’m sure it’s all on the table.
“He wants [extract] every opportunity you can, financially, get out of the situation because he believes he has a value and he does. He brings a lot to the sport, he brings a lot to Mercedes. He is a box office and wants this to be recognized. “
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