Lewis Hamilton has said he would like a new deal with Mercedes agreed before the Formula One summer break kicks-in.
Hamilton, 36, is riding on the crest of a wave after winning Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix to solidify his best ever start to a season.
The seven-time world champion has a 14-point cushion over Red Bull's Max Verstappen after winning three of the first four races.
Following his triumph at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, Hamilton signalled his intention to sign his next Mercedes contract before August's three-week summer break.
The Englishman is currently operating on a one-year contract, agreed just six weeks before the new season.
"We don't want to rush anything but I think we have to be sensible and start conversations," Hamilton said after Sunday's triumph.
"They're very complex, so hopefully soon we can start, as long as it doesn't interfere with the actual job."
The delay in his contract talks last year was not planned. He and team boss Toto Wolff wanted to wait until after Hamilton had clinched a record-equalling seventh title. But further delays were caused when they both contracted coronavirus – Hamilton at the start of December and Wolff in the new year.
"We never want to be in the position that we were in January, in February," he said. "It ruined my whole winter and I'm sure it wasn't helpful for Toto's, in terms of being out to be off and relaxed, so it felt like we didn't really have much of a break."
In an interview with the PA news agency, team principal Wolff says he believes Hamilton's next deal will be longer than a 12-month add-on.
"Yes, it should be [more than a year]," he said. "We don't want to be in a stressful situation every single year where we are absolutely flat-out trying to win races and needing to negotiate. I would rather that doesn't happen every year.
"We just need to spend a day or two together, put it out there, and decide which are the difficult components.
"We will then lock the door and won't walk out until it is sorted. That works best for us and it has worked best for us in the past. "
Asked if Hamilton can compete into his 40s, Wolff replied: "Yes, absolutely. I have no doubt about that. He is so disciplined that in a way it is inspiring.
"As long as Lewis continues to look after himself mentally and physically, continues to develop cognitively, then he can go on for much longer.
Meanwhile, shifting focus back on to the track, Hamilton believes he learnt more about title rival Verstappen and the Dutchman's car on Sunday than "all the other races put together".
The reigning world champion spent most of the afternoon behind Verstappen's Red Bull but hunted him down to secure his latest victory.
"It was actually a really good day. I learnt a lot about Max today, perhaps more than all the other races put together. This has been a good one in that sense," the Briton said.
"When you are with people on track you get to see different things and watch closely.
"Obviously I was following relatively closely and I learnt a lot about his car and how he uses it, so it was a good race in that respect."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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THREE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The five pillars of Islam
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
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