Lewis Hamilton reveals that he is close to signing a Mercedes deal

Lewis Hamilton has slammed the door shut on a move to Ferrari – committing himself to re-sign for Mercedes.

Mail Sport revealed on Monday that the Scuderia were preparing a £40million bid to sign the world’s most high-profile driver as negotiations dragged on.

Speaking on Thursday in Monaco, the world champion addressed the issue. He said the failures of his current car is not deterring him from penning a new deal which is said to be worth even more than the £40m mark.

He said: ‘My personal are team is working closely behind the scenes with Toto and we are almost at the end of having a contract ready.

‘Having a team to focus on that job is a much better position than I was in before. I used to do it all on my own and it was very stressful and I don’t have to do that anymore.

Hamilton had been linked with a switch from Mercedes to the red of Ferrari for next season

Charles Leclerc (right) could have potentially moved in the opposite direction if Hamilton (left) were to leave Mercedes after 11 seasons to join Ferrari in 2024

‘The current car does not have a bearing. We are still a championship-winning team and we have just had the wrong car and the decision that have bene made over the past two years that have not been ideal and we are working our way through that.

‘We have a new upgrade this weekend. The team have worked incredibly hard to bring this upgrade and after the first race in Bahrain that is what we had decided we were going to do. I Whilst here is not the best platform to see those come to fruition we will hopefully experience that more next week.

‘My team are having discussions with the team in the background, and we are almost there.’

Asked if Ferrari had yet been in touch he said: ‘No.’