JEREZ, Spain — Lewis Hamilton will drive for McLaren Mercedes through 2012 after signing a new five-year contract extension with the team.
“Following our initial F-1 agreement with Lewis, which we announced in November 2006, he went on to exceed all expectations for a rookie in F-1, even those of us in the team who have known him for over a decade,” Ron Dennis said. “Given Lewis’s performances over the course of the 2007 season, it is clear that improved financial terms were fully deserved and this formed part of the friendly negotiations with Lewis’s manager, Anthony Hamilton.”
The numbers of the “improved financial terms” were not released, of course, but it’s speculated that Hamilton will earn $20 million a year plus results bonuses.
“I have been connected to McLaren and Mercedes-Benz since 1998,” Hamilton said, “and feel that I could easily drive for this team for the whole of my F-1 career.”
McLaren normally loathes revealing the lengths of its drivers’ contracts, but in this case obviously wanted to make it clear to other teams that Hamilton is off limits for a long time.

• FIA President Max Mosley sent a letter to all 11 teams telling them that a budget cap, excluding engines, marketing and promotion and team principals’ wages, will be introduced in 2009. A new Financial Working Group should have the rules set by the middle of 2008.

• Strong rumors say that Frank Williams has sold 20 percent of his share of the team and Patrick Head 10 percent of his share to an investment group.

• Fernando Alonso drove a Renault F-1 car for the first time since the end of the 2006 season when he tested a modified version of the 2007 R27 at Jerez Jan. 15 and 16.
“There were a lot of good feelings, good memories and plenty of optimism,” he said. “There are new colors for me, a new helmet that I designed for the new season. The only thing we are missing is the new car!”

• When John Watson won his first Grand Prix he shaved off his beard as part of a deal with his team owner, the clean cut Roger Penske. Nick Heidfeld is not sure if he will shave his beard off if he wins.
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that,” he said. “I’ve thought about winning but I didn’t think about doing anything special!”

• The teams have agreed that each driver will get one exemption from the 10- place grid penalty for his first unscheduled engine change in the season.

• The initial multi-team test of the season, at Spain’s Jerez track, marked the first time that some of the new 2008 cars went head to head.
McLaren Mercedes and Ferrari both had two models of their new cars while Toyota and Red Bull each had one version. Renault, Williams, Super Aguri, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Force India had hybrid versions of their 2007 cars fitted with 2008 electronics and the common ECU and, in some cases, the 2008 four-race gearbox.
Kimi Raikkonen went quickest on day one in a ’08 Ferrari. Fernando Alonso marked his return to Renault by topping the times on day two, and Timo Glock was fastest on the final day in a new Toyota. Most thought Alonso’s time was merely a publicity stunt as he was, after all, in the uncompetitive 2007 Renault.
Light rain on two of the days gave the drivers plenty of chances to go out in slick conditions with no traction control. But it was the lack of the now banned engine braking that caused most of the spins as the rear end of the car snapped out on corner entry.

• Switzerland’s Sebastien Buemi, 19, will be Red Bull’s test/reserve driver as well as competing in GP2  this season. He replaces Germany’s Michael Ammermueller.

• Super Aguri managed a mere 10 laps at the Jerez test before a fire in the rear axle area and the lack of one vital replacement part left the team, which arrived with five transporters and a host of Honda engineers, idle for three days.