LEWIS HAMILTON has been warned Mercedes won’t hang around in picking their driver line up for 2022.
The world champion stalled on agreeing new terms for this season to the point he was eventually out of contract.
However, with the sport introducing the biggest rule change in its history next season, Merc boss Toto Wolff is eager to nail-down his driver pairing early.
It comes after McLaren boss Zak Brown predicted that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could join the team alongside George Russell in an all-new line up.
That would mean Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas both getting the boot and while Wolff would not be drawn on the speculation, he did admit they needed a quick decision.
He said: “I want to keep out of the discussion about who is going to drive for Mercedes but we don’t want to leave it until January to confirm our two drivers.
“Valtteri was pretty regular in terms of the summer announcement last year, which is when it should happen to give the driver some peace of mind and be able to concentrate on the job.
“Next year, there are a lot of balls in the air and we will always try to do the best for the team in the long term while also giving total loyalty to our current driver line up.
“We do not doubt Valtteri or Lewis but obviously discussions are going to happen but not in January next year.”
Hamilton, who only agreed a 10-month deal with Merc, said on Thursday that this year did not ‘feel like it is the end’.
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However, cryptically he added: “Only the next eight months or so will let me know and I’ll find out if I’m ready to stop or not. I don’t think I will, personally. But you never know.”
But Wolff, who joined Mercedes in 2014 the same year as Hamilton arrived from McLaren, is hopeful the Brit does stay on for another year.
When asked about Hamilton’s desire to remain with the team, Wolff said: “I hope so.
“The journey we have had together has been very successful. He has been a Mercedes driver since he was a kid and in his karting years.
“He has never raced a single weekend in Formula One without a Mercedes power unit so it is the logical continuation of the story.”
The speculation stemmed from Brown’s comment as Hamilton, Bottas and Russell are all out of contract at the end of the year.
And Verstappen’s Red Bull deal is understood to contain exit clauses that Merc could exploit.
Brown said: “Someone asked me what I thought the driver market would look like next year.
“I believe Geroege is out of contract and has a Mercedes relationship and did a great job in Bahrain last year.
“And Max, I have never seen his contract but understand there is a possibility for him to drive elsewhere.
“Mercedes and Toto are able to attract an awesome line up, so if those two were available and floating around, depending on what Toto does with his current line up, you can see that happening.”
Meanwhile, Verstappen laid down an early marker of intent after topping both practice sessions for the season opener in Bahrain.
The Dutchman was quickest in FP1 and FP2 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Hamilton, who was third-quickest.
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