Lewis Hamilton: No rush to start talks over new Ferrari deal

Lewis Hamilton insists he does not need to start contract talks with Ferrari because he already has a “pretty long” deal in place.

Hamilton has failed to finish in the top three since he moved from Mercedes and is 64 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in the world championship.

Ferrari said they signed Hamilton on a multi-year deal when they announced his blockbuster arrival at the start of last year but did not comment on the length of his contract.

However, opening up on his future with Ferrari ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton, who turns 41 in January, said he was geared up to stay with them beyond the end of next season in his search for a record eighth world title.

“I have a pretty long contract,” said Hamilton when asked if negotiations were under way over new deal with the Scuderia.

“Normally when you do a contract, it is the year before that you start to talk about it, so I am a little bit far from that point.”

Hamilton arrives in Interlagos fresh off the back of his best qualifying performance for Ferrari at the previous round in Mexico City.

Hamilton started third but finished a disappointing eighth after he was handed a controversial 10-second penalty by the stewards for running wide at turn four and being seen to gain an advantage over old nemesis Max Verstappen.

Commenting on the stewards’ decision on Thursday, Hamilton added: “There is not any clarity and that is part of the big issue – transparency and accountability and also that kind of secrecy as to how decisions are made.

“It is something that definitely needs to be tackled. I don’t know if they (the stewards) are aware of the weight of their decisions and that they steer careers and can decide results of the championship as we have seen in the past. So something needs to be done.”