Hamilton: Contract negotiation has been a pain in the backside

Protracted contract negotiations between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will not be resolved before the Chinese Grand Prix as hinted by both parties during the weekend in Malaysia, instead the reigning world champion has declared that the whole business of reading through the contract is a pain in the backside.

When asked if an announcement can be expected this weekend, Hamilton told media in Shanghai, "I think it is unlikely. Obviously at the last race I said it would be done within a week, this is my first time negotiating myself."

"You don’t know how many times I’ve had to read about 80 pages – it is so much reading and it is all in lawyer jargon. So it has been a quite a pain in the backside to be honest," he added.

The delay has prompted speculation that Hamilton, who recently took delivery of a €1.5 million LaFerrari, is keeping his options open in the wake of Ferrari's renaissance in Formula 1 and could be angling for a seat alongside Sebastian Vettel in the Maranello outfit - if not for next year then in 2017.

But Hamilton is denying such an option, and is adamant that it is only a mere snag that is delaying the final signing of the new Mercedes contract and insists the new deal is "99.6 per cent" done.

As for the Ferrari resurgence and Mercedes' battle plan, Hamilton said, "This is a race where it is much cooler than the last race. In previous years Ferrari have always struggled to get temperature up in their tyres, but they have done a good job in previous years here."

The doouble world champion added, "I think it will be really interesting, but I am up for a race – I hope we have a race with these guys because they are just as quick as us on the straights and they had amazing pace in the last race. So hopefully for the fans you get to see some battling between myself and Sebastian."

Hamilton leads the world championship standings after two rounds, having won the season opener in Melbourne and finished second to Vettel in Malaysia.