Motor Sport/Formula One: Lewis Hamilton is understood to have today become one of Britain's highest-paid sportsmen after signing a new multi-million pound contract with McLaren. The five-year deal is believed to be worth €13.4 million per year, or €267,000 per week Although McLaren have not released any financial details, their willingness to adequately reward Hamilton following a phenomenal debut year has never been in question.
The 23-year-old came within a point of winning the world title, only to lose out in the final grand prix of the campaign in Brazil as circumstances conspired against him. Hamilton, though, won four races and broke every rookie record in the Formula One history books. With his contract not due to expire until 2012, should Hamilton remain with the team up until that time, it means his partnership with McLaren will stretch to 15 years.
Hamilton was initially signed up a decade ago at the age of 13 as he was supported through various karting and junior formulae. Such is his affinity with McLaren, he freely concedes he "could easily drive for this team for the whole of my Formula One career". He added: "I am with the right team to compete for race wins and both the drivers' and constructors' world championships in the future.
"We will have a lot of challenges ahead, but I am 100 per cent positive I am with the people to take them on. The first of those challenges is the 2008 season. We have 57 days to go until the lights go out on the grid at Albert Park (for the Australian Grand Prix)."
McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh has revealed negotiations on the new deal only started with Hamilton's manager, father Anthony, following the launch of the 2008 car 11 days ago in Stuttgart. They were swiftly concluded, much to the delight of team boss Ron Dennis who has hailed Hamilton as "an exceptional human being". Dennis added: "Given Lewis' performances over the course of 2007, it is clear improved financial terms were fully deserved . . . we all expect, with Heikki (Kovalainen) coming on board to partner Lewis, we will have a very competitive year."
Despite last season's problems when the team were fined €68 million for being in unlawful possession of Ferrari secrets, Anthony insists McLaren "provide the best opportunity for his (Lewis') career in the long term". He added: "It is an amazing thing to have been signed by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz at the age of 13, and to be given an opportunity to achieve a better life than one would ever have dreamed could happen. It is a fantastic feeling to have put all our faith and belief into the team, and here we are today in a great partnership and our relationship even stronger."
