Lewis Hamilton contract talks with Mercedes will start once Formula One resumes, says Toto Wolff

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says contract talks with Lewis Hamilton will start once the revised 2020 Formula One season is under way.

The reigning world champion has won five of his six titles with the dominant Silver Arrows since leaving McLaren in 2013, though his future in F1 remains subject to speculation with an agreement over an extension to a deal that is due to expire this year yet to be reached.

Rumours regarding a high-profile switch to Ferrari were quickly dashed last month when McLaren's Carlos Sainz was named as the successor to Sebastian Vettel, who will end his six-year spell with the Scuderia after the coronavirus-delayed 2020 campaign is finally complete.

Providing an update on the situation, Mercedes team principal Wolff - whose own long-term role moving forward remains unclear - expressed hope that an agreement with Hamilton to remain with the team was not far away.

"We didn’t see each other over lockdown, we were in different parts of the world but in regular contact,” he said.

"We didn’t work on any agreement between us but there is a lot of trust, we’ve been together for a long time and never in this time did we have to take the contract out and actually read what was written because it comes so naturally.

“Once racing resumes we will spend some time together, take the contract out of the cupboard, look at the timings, the numbers, the rights, and hopefully have something pretty soon.”

Earlier this week, Formula One announced that the shortened 2020 season would begin in Austria in early July, with double-headers at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone sandwiched between a race in Hungary and further Grands Prix in Spain, Belgium and Italy.

A further 7-10 races are expected to be confirmed over the coming weeks.

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