LONDON: Lewis Hamilton has ended his long-running contract saga by signing a one-year deal with Mercedes for the 2021 season, the Formula One team announced on Monday. The British driver will be competing for an unprecedented eighth world title when the new season gets underway in Bahrain next month.

The Austrian Toto Wolff backed Hamilton’s drive for greater diversity in the sport, said the Briton’s competitive record stood alongside the “best the sports world has ever seen.”

“The story of Mercedes and Lewis has written itself into the history books of our sport over the past eight seasons, and we are hungry to compete and to add more chapters to it,” he said.

Hamilton eased to last year’s title, wrapping up the record-equalling triumph with three rounds remaining at November’s Turkish Grand Prix. But the Briton was forced to miss the penultimate round in Bahrain after he contracted coronavirus.

Hamilton has won six of his seven titles with Mercedes since joining in 2013. He won his first crown in 2008 when he was at McLaren.