Lewis Hamilton appears to be closing in on a new and improved contract at Mercedes, with the 38-year-old reportedly expected to sign fresh terms at some point over the next few days. The Brit is only tied down to Mercedes until the end of this year as things stand but has been widely tipped to extend his stay with the team after George Russell was said to have committed his long-term future to the Silver Arrows last week.
Ferrari were recently linked with a surprise big-money move for Hamilton, who had reportedly been lined up by the Maranello squad to race alongside Charles Leclerc from next season onwards. The rumours were quickly denied by both Hamilton and Ferrari but Johnny Herbert believes that a deal could still be done if there are problems going on behind the scenes at Mercedes.
"Hamilton has been on the verge of signing for about a month or more, but I am still thinking there is this Ferrari chance," Herbert told OLBG.
"I know they have denied it, but the deal hasn't been done at Mercedes. They keep saying it's close. I wonder if there is still something else going on outside this. I think it is worth a punt by Lewis as I see it that Mercedes, despite the improvement in Barcelona, are still way behind the curve when it comes to challenging Red Bull and to winning races."
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