Lewis Hamilton still no closer to Mercedes contract extension with just 12 months left as F1 star hints at retirement

LEWIS HAMILTON turns 38 on Saturday but there will be no birthday cards sent from Red Bull.

The Mercedes man still has 12 months to run on his existing contract and there has been no progress on a contract extension over the winter.

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The seven time World Drivers Championship winner hasn’t decided on his future of the sport just yet[/caption]

Hamilton has spent time in the US and London with his family as he unplugs from his F1 commitments.

But as the sport countdown to the season opener on March 5th in Bahrain, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko still sees Hamilton and teammate George Russell as their biggest threat – not Ferrari.

He said: “I would say that we should fear Mercedes more.

“Mainly because they have an advantage over Ferrari in terms of strategy and reliability.

“Our situation is certainly not like that of Mercedes at the beginning of the hybrid era.

“We don’t have an immense lead with the engine right now. So that is very different.

“Mercedes had at least 50 bhp margin over all the others back then.

“And we shouldn’t forget, 2022 has been the first year under this new set of regulations.

“Other teams have obviously seen what we have done with this year’s car.

“So I think it will definitely be much closer next season.”

Meanwhile, McLaren will launch their challenger for 2023 on February 13th – the same day as Aston Martin unveil their car.

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McLaren’s launch will be the first official event for 2021 Formula 2 champion, Oscar Piastri, who joins Lando Norris at the team.