Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will not hang around and wait for Lewis Hamilton to make up his mind about a 2022 contract. The Brit has yet to decide if he wants to continue racing with the Silver Arrows beyond this season.
Teams usually aim to have their driver line-up sorted before the conclusion of the F1 season.
However, Hamilton did not pen his latest one-year deal until February, which led to much speculation.
Wolff does not wait to leave it so late next time around, especially with Valtteri Bottas’ future also up in the air.
The Austrian plans to have his 2022 line-up sorted by the summer so both parties have plenty of time to forward plan.
“I want to keep out of the discussion about who is going to drive for Mercedes but we don’t want to leave it until January to confirm our two drivers,” Wolff said.
And Wolff hopes their partnership can continue so they can create even more history together.
“The journey we have had together has been very successful,” he added. “He has been a Mercedes driver since he was a kid and in his karting years.
“He has never raced a single weekend in Formula One without a Mercedes power unit so it is the logical continuation of the story.”
During the pre-Bahrain Grand Prix press conference on Thursday, Hamilton spoke about his contract situation.
He said: “Only the next eight months or so will let me know and I’ll find out if I’m ready to stop or not.
“I don’t think I will, personally. But you never know.”