Mercedes and Hamilton have agreed contract terms

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has confirmed that all terms of Lewis Hamilton's contract have been agreed and the team is now just waiting for the four-time world champion to sign the deal.

Hamilton signed a three-year extension with Mercedes in 2015, keeping him to the squad until the end of the 2018 season. With Hamilton wrapping up a further two championships with the Silver Arrows since signing his last deal, it is widely expected that he will put pen to paper again.

But Lauda is not worried about the delay, stating he is extremely confident that the Briton will sign: "We have no time pressure. It will 110 per cent happen. We have agreed on everything, but whether he signs now or in three weeks doesn't matter."

Valtteri Bottas is also out of contract at the end of the year, but Lauda said that the team has been impressed by his display so far: "In the last three races he was faster than Lewis. If you look at him objectively, he is doing really well. Rosberg-like."

Bottas joined the German squad at the start of 2017 and extended his stay for one more year last season. Rumours have been swirling that he could be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo or Fernando Alonso for 2019, but team boss Toto Wolff has shot down the claims.

"I think he's a great driver," he said of Alonso, "and if the fallout of the previous relationship did not exist then I think he would have ten championships. F1 has become a game of relationships and a long-term strategy is needed. And I think Fernando may still be suffering from things that happened ten years ago, even if he is a different person now."

Fergal Walsh