Lewis Hamilton could finish his F1 career at Mercedes, says Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton could finish his Formula 1 career at Mercedes, according to team boss Toto Wolff.

Having previously spent the entirety of his F1 career at McLaren, Hamilton is already in his fifth season at Mercedes.

Despite the success of their partnership including two drivers' titles, Hamilton's relationship with the Silver Arrows has hit various bumps in the road since 2013, most notably at the end of last year when Wolff and Hamilton had to hold clear-the-air talks to stem the fall-out from Nico Rosberg's championship coronation.

But with Hamilton - 13th on the grid for Sunday's Monaco GP - starting 2017 in resplendent form, both on and off the track, Wolff says he can foresee F1's most marketable star ending his career as a Mercedes driver. Hamilton's current contract runs to the end of 2018.

"If you would have asked me the same question one year ago, I would not have been very optimistic, but now it is different," Wolff told The Daily Mail.

"I have the feeling that it can't be much better in a different place. For him and for us. This is very strong now, and I am not speaking only about on-track performance because there are going to be difficult moments, but I am speaking about the relationship.

"After five years, this relationship has become so strong in a way that it wasn't last season. For Lewis it will be important to see whether we are competitive or not, but at the moment there is such a solid basis that I can imagine it going on forever."

And Wolff has acknowledged that the catalyst for Hamilton's newly-rediscovered contentment within the Mercedes camp was Rosberg's retirement from F1 just days after the German clinched the 2016 drivers' title crown in controversial fashion at the season-concluding Abu Dhabi GP.

"Definitely the biggest positive development I have seen between 2013 and now happened over the winter and after Nico left the team," said Wolff.

"Drivers are sometimes viewed within teams as contractors and they will always look after their own agenda rather than the team's interest, but Lewis is now in his fifth year with us and that has changed. He has become a part of the team.

"I would not use the word team player because that goes against the DNA of a racing driver, but I think he has realised, acknowledged and respects the whole effort that is happening in the team. Somehow it has become natural. He towards the team, and the team towards him. We have built a trustful relationship."

Meanwhile, Wolff has conceded it is unlikely Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari for Mercedes at the end of the year. Like Hamilton's new team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, Vettel is out of contract for 2018 and swerved speculation earlier this month that he join leave the Scuderia for the Silver Arrows.

"Taking Sebastian out of the equation at this stage would be silly, but equally it is not on the table right now," said Wolff. "I don't see a reason why Sebastian should leave a team that probably have an equal package with us at the moment.

"He would not be the only one to look at. We have our young drivers that are developing well and I like both of the Red Bull drivers. When the time comes to assess I think there could be up to 10 drivers we would look at more closely.

"But if the season were to continue like it was now, with Valtteri's performance ramping up all the time and him being an important and well-performing part of the team, I don't see a reason for change."

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