Lewis Hamilton has just signed a contract with Mercedes extending his stay for two more years. When this new deal expires in in 2023, Hamilton will be 39 years old, possibly up to a 10-time world champion, and will have spent 11 years with the team with whom he’s won six of his seven current titles.

Regarding the new extension, Hamilton said, “It is hard to believe it’s been nearly nine years working with this incredible team and I’m excited we’re going to continue our partnership for two more years. “We’ve accomplished so much together but we still have a lot to achieve, both on and off the track. I’m incredibly proud and grateful of how Mercedes has supported me in my drive to improve diversity and equality in our sport. They have held themselves accountable and made important strides in creating a more diverse team and inclusive environment.”

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Mirroring those sentiments, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff , saying, “As we enter a new era of F1 from 2022 onwards, there can be no better driver to have in our team than Lewis. His achievements in this sport speak for themselves, and with his experience, speed and race craft, he is at the peak of his powers. We are relishing the battle we have on our hands this year – and that’s why we also wanted to agree this contract early, so we have no distractions from the competition on track.”

The reason for such an early decision came from the fact that Mercedes didn’t want to find themselves in the same situation they did last year, where they were technically out of a driver until Hamilton finally signed a 1-year deal mere weeks before the start of the new season. Additionally, the decision to make this contract for 2 years instead of another 1-year extension was for the sake of stability, as regardless of who ends up taking the Silver Arrows’ second seat, with the huge regulation changes coming next year, it’s in Mercedes’ best interest to have at least one driver intimately familiar with the team dynamic.

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And as for who will fill that second seat, at this point it seems to be a toss-up between current seat holder Valtteri Bottas, and Williams driver George Russell, who proved his mettle in a Mercedes last year when he took over for Hamilton at the Sakhir GP and nearly won the race, and has been getting the absolute maximum out of his Williams car at almost every race this season.

Do you think Mercedes will play it safe with Bottas alongside Hamilton for 2022, or take the gamble on Russell amidst the changing regulations? Let us know bellow.