Hamilton did joke that he “earned his 10 per cent” by negotiating for himself, after months of re-reading the 80 pages of legalese. He was even congratulated by team-mate Nico Rosberg, with whom he has had a long-standing feud. “I congratulated Lewis because it is great for him to sign a new contract,” said the German. “We have a mutual relationship and it is working. We are really pushing each other to higher levels all the time and it is good to know now what the future is.”