Lewis Hamilton hit out at Jenson Button and Damon Hill after they claimed the seven-time world champion was waiting to see how competitive his car is before signing a new deal with Mercedes.
Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff pledged to thrash out a new deal over the winter after declaring their desire to do so towards the end of last season. But the first race weekend of 2023 has arrived and there is still no news of fresh terms for the 38-year-old.
The lack of updates has led to significant speculation about why that is the case. Hamilton's current deal expires at the end of this year, and some have suggested that he could choose to end his Formula 1 career after all if the Silver Arrows suffer another difficult season.
But the Brit rubbished such claims and criticised Button and Hill for their speculation, telling reporters including Mirror Sport : "It's mostly people creating rumours without facts. Never helpful. You would have thought they would both know me by now."
As Hamilton prepares to start his 17th season in F1, he is clearly irritated by the suggestions he could leave Mercedes if they have another disappointing year. Last season was his first ever in F1 without a single race victory.
Former world champions Button and Hill have both claimed that the most likely reason for the delay in Hamilton extending his Mercedes contract – which expires at the end of 2023 – is concerns about their under-performance.
But ahead of the season-opener in Bahrain, Hamilton said: "I've been with Mercedes since I was 13. We had a difficult year last year and I'm still here. And whether or not we have a difficult year this year, I'll still be here. We fight as a team."
Hamilton, though, did admit Mercedes would not be in a fight for first place with Red Bull in Sunday's race. Max Verstappen's team looked comfortably the strongest in pre-season testing and they go into the season as the clear favourites for both championships.
He said: "They [Red Bull] developed an amazing car last year, they blew away all the records. I don't think they were pushing at the end and they were still way ahead. I don't see that changing necessarily at the start of the season."
