Lewis Hamilton still looks set to extend his Mercedes career as team principal Toto Wolff is "absolutely" sure the Brit will put pen to paper.
The seven-time world champion is, at the very least, contracted to one more year with the Silver Arrows. Having spent much of last winter considering his Formula 1 future, and approaching his 38th birthday, there had been suggestions this would be the point he would decide to bow out of the sport.
But despite a difficult 2022 season for Mercedes, Hamilton appears reinvigorated. His previous declaration that he would not still be racing beyond his 40th birthday appears to have been forgotten, and instead he plans to continue driving for the team he calls his family.
And even after talk about his contract renewal plans fell silent in the last couple of weeks, his team boss Wolff has no concerns that his mind has changed again. "Certainly, Lewis' contract is one of the topics that we will tackle over the winter," the Austrian told F1's Beyond the Grid podcast.
"There's no firm deadline. Absolutely, Lewis is part of the team and the team is part of Lewis. [There is] no reason to [for that to] not continue. I think one of his strengths is that he's always hungry, always eager. He's a great sportsman but he's also someone who is extremely driven and determined."
Despite Mercedes' struggles in terms of car performance this year, their newest driver pairing seemed to be a success. Fellow Brit George Russell hit the ground running in his first season with a top team, and even beat Hamilton in the standings.
That was achieved thanks to the former Williams driver's impressive consistency, and of course the fact he secured the team's one and only victory of the campaign in Brazil. Having settled in well, Russell feels 2023 could be the year – depending, of course, on Mercedes' competitiveness – he emerges as a title contender.
"I think I've got enough experience now that I feel ready to fight for a championship and be able to handle the challenges and difficulties that come with it," he told Racer.
"Obviously the likes of Lewis and Max [Verstappen] have more experience in that scenario. But if you go out and you put it on pole and win every race you will be world champion. So you have just got to focus on smaller details and it's in your own hands, almost."
