Lewis Hamilton reveals timeline for £120m contract agreement as Mercedes unveil new W09 car

Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes know there is simply no-one better than him as he hopes to seal a lucrative fresh contract agreement with the dominant Brackley-based team before the beginning of the new season.

Having surpassed Sir Jackie Stewart for the most number of F1 titles won by a British driver with his fourth triumph in 2017, the 33-year-old, per the Evening Standard, was expected to negotiate a new three-year extension to a deal currently due to expire at the end of the coming campaign worth a reported £120m ($166m), £40m per season.

Team principal Toto Wolff confirmed to reporters during the unveiling of Mercedes' new W09 car at Silverstone on Thursday [22 February] that it was realistic to expect an agreement to be reached within the next few weeks.

Hamilton revealed that the two parties had been in constant communication during the off-season to reiterate their commitment to one another and believes there is an obvious understanding that both are fully aware that there are no superior options available to either.

And while he is keen to put pen to paper before the 2018 season begins in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix on 25 March, the Stevenage native insists there is no panic or need to rush into a premature accord.

"Toto knows that I know that there is no-one better, so he's not going to be looking anywhere else and he knows that I know there's no-one else better so I'm not looking anywhere else, so we're comfortable and we're committed to each other," he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

"It's just about always talking about the details. Hopefully we'll have something done before the beginning of the season, before the start of the first race. But again we're just in no rush, there's just no reason to rush anything, there's no panic."

Hamilton went onto point to the fact that he had never entered discussions with any other team during his time at Mercedes as a sign of his unwavering dedication to the Silver Arrows, who will be aiming to secure a fifth successive constructors' crown this year.

"I'm not feeling under any pressure of any other drivers being there and Toto and Mercedes have no reason to feel that I'm talking to anybody else," he added. "In the whole six years that I've been here I've not spoken to another team once, and I think that really shows my commitment.

"I know that the team have been contacted by other drivers in the past and probably still do today and that's inevitable, but we always made it clear at the beginning that if I was to engage and look at my options I would inform them and I've not needed to because I haven't."

Hamilton - joined at Thursday's launch by teammate Valtteri Bottas and Billy Monger, the teenage driver who had both legs amputated after a Formula 4 crash at Donington Park last April - described the new W09 EQ Power+ as a "work of art", with a more elegant chassis design and major upgrades made to the power unit.

However, Wolff was evidently not impressed with the aesthetic design of the new halo cockpit protection device, stating that a better solution is needed.

"If you give me a chainsaw, I would take it off," he quipped.