JULY 3, 2007

Lewis wants a pay rise?

There are reports in Spain that Lewis Hamilton is asking McLaren for a pay rise. Hamilton signed for McLaren this year for a salary which is believed to be around $300,000, with a bonus scheme based on the number of points that he scores. According to the reports, however, there is also a clause in the contract that allows for a renegotiation in the event of him leading the World Championship at the halfway point of the season. Such a clause is possible as no-one expected Lewis to be doing as well as he is and such a clause might have been allowed because it seemed at the time to be wildly optimistic.

The stories should be treated with a certain amount of care as they could be designed to destabilize the team and put pressure on Hamilton. Having said that it is not unnatural for Hamilton to want more as he has given the team and its sponsors extremely good value for money thus far this year.