Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has deleted an Instagram post that pledged his commitment to Mercedes.
The Sun claimed Hamilton’s ‘dream move’ to Ferrari was over due to Sebastian Vettel revealing his plans to stay at the Prancing Horse.
In Hamilton’s deleted post, however, there was a caption underneath the news headline from The Sun which read: "First off, there is no dash to another team. I am with my dream team. Second, there is not a thing in my way as I’m not trying to move.
"I’m with the people who have cared from day one. We are the best team!"
Some F1 fans have been speculating for years now whether the 32-year-old Mercedes driver would be loyal to his team if a mega-money contract came knocking, especially from racing giants Ferrari.
Due to the outbreak of coronavirus, contract talks have become less of a priority with teams focusing on their immediate future.
Despite this, the Italian edition of Motorsport.com believe that both Hamilton and Vettel have until the end of April to let their respective teams know whether they are wanting to renew their contracts.
Until then, neither Hamilton nor Vettel can start to explore alternatives.
Vettel himself revealed in a recent video press conference that he was continuing to hold talks with Ferrari about his own future, according to The Sun, ‘stalling Hamilton’s hopes of a dream move’.
Hamilton left a lot of F1 and Mercedes fans confused with how frantically he took down the post.
One F1 fan posted a popular comment on Twitter, however, which reads: “This has pretty much confirmed he (Hamilton) is sticking with Mercedes. The likelihood is he only deleted it because someone told him to because contract negotiations are always private until it is all said and done”
The comment on Twitter has over 6,000 likes, with many sharing the same opinion.
Hamilton and Mercedes were expected to recommence talks over a new deal following the conclusions of the pre-season test, however, the pandemic brought talks to a halt.
With no racing and currently no 2020 season to be competing in, some fans are apprehensive as to whether Mercedes will continue after the pandemic dies down due to unstable financial stability.