During the off-season, Lewis Hamilton’s contract negotiations with Mercedes regularly made F1 headlines due to the uncertainty of whether the Brit would return to the German racing outfit.

He eventually signed a one-year contract extension, but ex-driver Johnny Herbert has now told motorsport-total.com, as per RacingNews365, that his compatriot is not at all happy with the state of his Mercedes contract.

Herbert said: “I've heard he's (Hamilton) not particularly happy with the situation.

"I hope he doesn't stop, because he can still give Formula 1 a lot. We know how important it was for the global growth of the sport in many areas.”

Red Bull Motivation

There have been rumours that Hamilton may leave F1 if things don’t go his way regarding his contract, but Herbert believes the challenge that Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team are bringing this season should be enough to persuade him to not leave F1 just yet.

"Motivation has always played a major role.

"Ayrton always said about motivation that it was a big deal for him to come back year after year, to push himself, to keep getting better and better. And I think it's the same with Lewis. If you've had a success like his, then you need that kind of motivation.

"If Max and Red Bull can challenge him for a whole season, then he'll enjoy it.”

Mercedes Wanting Out?

In addition to rumours about Hamilton leaving F1, there has also been speculation that Mercedes may leave the sport too. If that were to happen, Herbert has said that other racing teams would queue up in order to get Hamilton in one of their cars.

"Who wouldn't want Lewis Hamilton in their car?

"At the end of the year it gives you the opportunity to see exactly how things are - where exactly Mercedes-Benz will be.

"There were always rumours that they might slowly withdraw from the sport. That wasn't the case, of course. But it could happen."

After one race so far this season, Hamilton is already leading the pack at the top of the table following his incredible finish in Bahrain.

The F1 world will hope that the seven-time champion’s feelings over his contract won’t affect his performance on the track as the Bahrain GP was just a taste of how tight this year’s campaign looks set to be.