Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff has revealed that Lewis Hamilton's contract renewal talks are now "down to the details" and he is hopeful that the discussions will soon be concluded.
Hamilton, who has been with Mercedes since 2013, has only nine months remaining on his current contract with Mercedes. As a result, speculations on the Briton's future has been a hot topic of discussion ever since he claimed the Championship last season.
Although Wolff stated in February that Mercedes would be looking to wrap up Hamilton's contract "before the start of the season," he has time and again insisted that no deadline has been placed on the negotiations.
"This is a very important topic and we didn't set ourselves any deadlines because deadlines put you under pressure," Wolff told Sky Sports.
And now the 43-year-old Austrian has revealed that the "discussions are very positive" and he is hopeful that the negotiations will be concluded "soon."
"Our discussions are very positive; it's down to the detail," added Wolff. "None of us have ever spoken to anybody else and our aim is to do it [finalise the contract] as soon as possible. It's an ongoing discussion and hopefully we'll have some news soon."
Hamilton, who parted ways with his former management company XIX Entertainment, has been conducting the contract negotiations himself with some assistance from his long-time lawyer.
And the former McLaren driver also revealed that he is close to agreeing to a new deal with Mercedes.
"We are pretty much there. The lawyers are now doing their thing and we are left to focus on the weekend," Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ. "It's not been a particularly enjoyable process. I don't know if I would choose to do it myself again but I'm hoping I have done myself proud at least."
According to reports, the 30-year-old Briton, who has won the championship twice, is looking to get himself a bumper deal so that he can become the best paid driver in Formula One ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who recently secured some good deals after signing with Ferrari and McLaren respectively.
