Toto Wolff has revealed that money was not “the sticking point” in negotiations with Lewis Hamilton over a new Mercedes contract.

After months of speculation, Hamilton put pen to paper on a one-year deal with the German manufacturer on Monday.

The length of the deal has created a new set of questions itself, with both George Russell and Max Verstappen now being linked with a seat at Mercedes for the 2022 Formula 1 season.

Valtteri Bottas is also out of contract at the end of this year and Wolff hinted that the sense of uncertainty surrounding the world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic played a part in the discussions with Hamilton.

“Lewis has always recognised that this is a very difficult period,” he said, as reported by Crash.

“Difficult in the sense of difficult for everybody. Difficult from a health point of view. There’s much more important topics than F1 racing, and also that the auto industry is in a transformation phase.

“So, the money topic wasn’t the sticking point. It was more about letting us get going quickly for 2021.

“We respect that a sportsperson has a shelf-life and that you need to optimise the outcome whilst being active.

“But on the other side, Lewis has a global perspective of what is going on out there and he always recognised that.”

In Wolff’s view, Hamilton remains the best driver on the grid, but he said that it was important not to see the two drivers as “superstars” but rather part of a team.

“We have always been quite aligned on what the other side would expect,” he added.

“For me, he’s the best driver. He has a huge global following, much beyond the racing fan and he has won seven championships without making major mistakes in the last few years. Like many in the team and the wider organisation, he’s an important pillar of the success.

“On the other side, Lewis recognises that he’s one of 2000 that we have within our team and that it’s not two superstars, but we are 2000 superstars. And each of us contributes to the team’s success.

“Because he has this helicopter perspective from the wider world out there, it was a very tough year for us personally, from a health standpoint, and also from an economical standpoint, so he knew that even though he has delivered on his side, there is a economical reality out there that is important to respect.”