Hamilton told Mercedes Benz to increase his money to £145m

Two-times Formula 1 world champions, Lewis Hamilton has asked Mercedes Benz to increase his money to £145 million or leave for another team, following his refusal to sign a new contract which the German company offered him.

Hamilton, who gave his world title defense a strong start at the beginning of the season wants to be one of the highest paid alongside Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, b who's the only driver with such money.

If Mercedes do agree to match Hamilton’s demands, it would see the 30-year-old become the highest-paid driver on the grid, along with Vettel for a period of three years.

But the Mercedes board at Stuttgart are unwilling to rip up their entire pay structure to accommodate the world champion, according to Jonathan McEvoy of the Mail.

Included in his proposed contract is that Hamilton wants to keep all of his trophies and his winning car – something his bosses in Germany may not be overly keen on granting.

Hamilton, who is leading the talks without an agency on his behalf, said in March that just a couple of signatures were required for the deal to be finalised, but it has since been held up to a worrying extent.

“Honestly, it’s 99.6 per cent done,” he said at the time. “There’s no negotiating left, it’s just legal stuff.”

But since those comments from Hamilton, he has been repeatedly linked with a sensational move to Ferrari to drive alongside Vettel.

Reports of his increased demands will only further indicate to fans that perhaps a deal with Mercedes is not as close or as certain as it had seemed. Eurosport