Lewis Hamilton says freedoms and flexibility in his Mercedes contract is more important to him than the salary he makes as he looks to finalise a new Form﷽ula 1 deal. 

Hamilton is entering the eighth and final🗹 year of his current Mercedes F1 deal, with the six-time world champion’s contract due to expire ♑at the end of the 2020 season.

The Briton has repeatedly dismissed reports of a switch to Ferrari amid continued speculation and recently insisted that Mercedes remains his “dream te🍒am”.

Speaking in an interview with Sky F1 which was recorded earlier t❀his year but released this week, Hamilton opened up about negotiating what could be his final contract to race in F1.

“When I joined the team, I opened up doors to be able to do things like [my] partnership ✃with Tommy [Hilfiger],” Hamilton said.

“If we hadn’t had this earlier discussion, Tommy wou🎶ldn’t be a part of our team, I wouldn’t be able to do the great things that I’m doing.

“So just small bits we have tඣo tweak here and there which enable th♏ose things, which then don’t take away from the primary goal, which is to win world titles.

“Every ꧙year your life is moving and shifting ꧂and your plan for your next five years is always different.

“Obviously I’m going into potentially my last period of time in my sport and of course you want to maximise 🏅financially but it🔜’s more about results.

“It’s about the journey and th♔e destination and the oth🍬er things that you’re doing also that complement that.”

Hamilton was joined in the interview by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, whose own deal runs out a🔜t the end of the year. Hamilton says the Austrian’s unique and open management-style has been key in enabling him to flourish while at the German manufacturer.

“I think [he’s] unlike other managers [who] have generally been quite narrow-minded ▨in a lot of things,” Hamilton explained.

“Perhaps no one else would allow me to do, for example, 🃏the thing I do with Tommy, which is n♕ot conflicting to any of the brands.

“If anything, that’s helped elevate us. We’ve brought a little bit of colour. Before we we♔re a black-and-white team and now we ha🌞ve colours on our shirts which was not a Mercedes way in the past.

“But even Mercedes are becoming a more flexible and more appealing brand. And I thi♒nk that𝓡’s only been good for us.”