Lewis Hamilton offered mammoth £62m deal, but Mercedes remove key clause

Lewis Hamilton has been offered a mammoth two-year deal by Mercedes to extend his stay in Formula 1 at least until the end of the 2025 season. The seven-time world champion's current deal with the Silver Arrows expires at the end of the 2023 campaign.

The British racer endured his first winless campaign in 2022 when Mercedes struggled to match rivals Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. It was his first season without a race win since making his F1 debut with McLaren in 2007.

The disappointing campaign has further motivated Hamilton to get Mercedes back to winning ways when the 2023 campaign gets underway. Despite being in the latter years of his career, the Briton has no plans of walking away and has expressed a desire to sign a new long-term contract.

According to The Sun, Mercedes are also eager to keep Hamilton in Brackley for the foreseeable future and have now offered him a mammoth £62 million per year deal until the end of the 2025 season. It will make him the highest paid driver on the grid again after he was briefly eclipsed by Verstappen's new deal last season.

However, the eight-time Constructors' Champions have made one alteration to his current deal. Mercedes have reportedly removed the "championship winning" clause that would have earned him £22 million if he secures an eighth world title.

The removal of the clause is not a big loss for Hamilton, as his current salary is expected to be around £45 million per season. The British ace will not be guaranteed a bonus fee whether he is able to claim a record-breaking eighth world title.

Similarly, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is also eager to get the new deal signed, but is not overly concerned by the delay. He recently admitted that it will take just a few hours to reach an agreement owing to their strong relationship developed over the last 10 years together.

"As for contract discussions, we have a full year to go," Wolff said. "We are so aligned - in the last ten years our relationship has grown."

"It's just a matter of him physically being back in Europe, sticking our heads together, wrestling a bit, and then leaving the room with white smoke after a few hours."