F1 fans pick sides in Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes contract stand-off

Lewis Hamilton should not receive his dream F1 deal with thousands of fans siding with Mercedes. A staggering 66.4 per cent of spectators feel Hamilton should not be handed a five-year contract extension, according to a new Express Poll.

It leaves just 33.6 per cent who do feel Hamilton should be rewarded with a bumper deal. The new survey comes just hours after fresh reports indicated that Hamilton would not receive his ideal offer.

According to The Mail, Hamilton’s request for a five-year deal had been rejected by Mercedes bosses. Instead, it is understood the German team wants to offer a new one-year deal with an option for a second.

Last month, they reported the seven-them champion had asked for a longer-term deal valued at around £250 million. But, Hamilton could reject the deal after an insider claimed Hamilton could walk away from just a one-year agreement.

Hamilton has repeatedly pledged his allegiance to the Silver Arrows despite the team’s struggles. He even stood firm amid rumours Ferrari was prepared to put a £40million offer in for the star.

In Canada, Hamilton admitted he was planning on remaining with the team “for a decent chunk of time” and revealed he had no deadline on signing new terms. He commented: “It’s not as easy as just saying ‘go ahead’, and I don’t have to be in a rush.”

“And then I don’t really have a huge amount to say on the contractual side of things. It’ll get done when it’s done. If that’s next week, if that’s in a month’s time, as long as it gets done I’m not really bothered.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has also continued to back his man recently admitting a new contract could be finalised within half an hour. In Austria, Wolff was still optimistic the discussion would soon be over.

He said: “I am still very confident it is still days. We want to do it super, to get every detail right.” Mercedes’ enjoyed a brief turnaround of fortunes in Spain and Canada but struggled in Spielberg.

The squad fell behind Ferrari and McLaren who put out improved performances with new parts. But, an Express Sport poll finds fans are struggling to see Hamilton securing silverware this year with 59.5 per cent admitting he will not win a Grand Prix in 2023.