LONDON (AFP, REUTERS) - Lewis Hamilton has ended his long-running contract saga with Mercedes by signing a new one-year deal, the Formula One team announced on Monday (Feb 8).
The British driver, 36, will be bidding to win an unprecedented eighth world title when the season gets under way in Bahrain next month.
"The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team is pleased to announce that the reigning Formula One world constructors' champion and the reigning F1 world drivers' champion will continue together in 2021," the team said in a statement.
Hamilton had been out of contract since his last deal expired on the final day of December.
But after several weeks of negotiations with Mercedes, his future has finally been settled, albeit with both parties agreeing to only one extra year.
Mercedes said the new agreement, which referred only to 2021, included a joint commitment for greater diversity and inclusion.
Hamilton, the sport's only Black driver and its most successful racer, has used his platform and profile increasingly to push for equal opportunities and speak out against racial injustice.
"I am excited to be heading into my ninth season with my Mercedes team mates," he said.
"Our team has achieved incredible things together and we look forward to building on our success even further, while continuously looking to improve, both on and off the track.
"I'm equally determined to continue the journey we started to make motorsport more diverse for future generations and I am grateful that Mercedes has been extremely supportive of my call to address this issue."
Hamilton, who last year set up a commission to help increase the representation of Black people in British motorsport, said he and Mercedes would be launching a joint foundation dedicated to diversity and inclusion in the sport.
The team's cars are set to continue with a black livery this season, a change made last year from the previous silver.
"Opening the sport to under-represented groups will be important for its development in the future and we're determined to make a positive impact," commented Mercedes' non-executive chairman Markus Schaefer.
