Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who has previously said that a new deal with the team was "99.6 percent done," only to see talks drag on for longer than anticipated, is finally set to agree to a £120M ($188M) contract, according to Dan Quarrell of EUROSPORT. The double world champion is set to pocket £40M ($62M)-a-year "as part of the new deal and will sign it before the start of the Monaco Grand Prix." Hamilton "is set to become the highest paid driver on the grid, alongside Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel." Hamilton said after the Spanish Grand Prix, "I will have some news for you in Monaco" (EUROSPORT, 5/12).
FAN INITIATIVE: REUTERS' Alan Baldwin wrote F1 drivers "are hoping to give more back to their fans, at a time when unfavorable comparisons are being made with other series, with a new initiative to be presented in Monaco next week." Grand Prix Drivers Association Chair Alex Wurz said that "more details would be presented on the Friday rest day before the race in the Mediterranean principality." Wurz, a former F1 driver, said, "To make sure this sport remains at the pinnacle and gets ever more popular, we would like to engage more with the fans. How we are doing this I don't want to go into because this will be announced in Monaco in great detail. I hope it's cool. The fans will tell us if they like it or not and that's what we want" (REUTERS, 5/12).
