Toto Wolff says he is pushing Lewis Hamilton to commit to Mercedes beyond the end of next year.
After the British driver closed the championship gap to just a single point at Silverstone, Hamilton hinted to the media that he is not ruling out retirement.
"I love driving and you could say it’s unlikely, but you can’t say what frame of mind I will be in at Christmas," said the triple world champion.
But just as he revealed a 2018 deal for Valtteri Bottas is a "no brainer", Mercedes team boss Wolff also said he wants to keep Hamilton on board too.
"This is a very tough championship so we are concentrating on the weekends," he said, "but we are having a really good relationship and talking about the future.
"Lewis is very much linked to Mercedes, and we love him as a driver, and I think the same for us is valid for him. So we are going to try to find an agreement for the future," Wolff added.
And so amid the latest retirement rumours and talk of a potential post-2018 switch to Ferrari, Wolff said he thinks Hamilton is actually committed to Mercedes.
"He’s in a very good place and he drives the fastest car at the moment," he said. "We have a contract that goes for one and a half more years and the best dynamic in the team, so all the talk outside has zero relevance for me."