Lewis Hamilton agrees to a new Mercedes contract for 2021

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have finally announced a new deal, with the seven-time reigning world champion signing a one-year contract with Mercedes for 2021. In what had been a highly unusual situation, Hamilton had entered 2021 without a deal in place to race, though Hamilton and Mercedes always insisted it was a matter of when, not if, a contract would be agreed.

Time was the crucial factor, with COVID-19 making it difficult to meet face-to-face, then Mercedes and Hamilton decided to hold off on talks to focus on the title, and Hamilton testing positive for COVID-19 to delay things further. But at last, Hamilton and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff finalised the small details of the contract, paving the way to announce the new deal, around three weeks before Mercedes reveals its 2021 challenger.

Mercedes says a significant part of the new agreement builds upon the joint commitment to greater diversity and inclusion in motorsport that was made last year by Hamilton and Mercedes. This will take the form of a joint charitable foundation, which will have the mission of supporting greater diversity and inclusion in all its forms in motorsport.

Hamilton will partner Valtteri Bottas, whose one-year deal extension was announced last August, for a fifth successive campaign. 2021, meanwhile, will represent Hamilton's ninth season with Mercedes. The confirmation of Hamilton's deal means the 2021 Formula One grid is now complete, with Hamilton targeting an unprecedented eighth world championship - and what would be a seventh in eight years.