The reigning champion dispensed with XIX Entertainment last year and has been negotiating himself with the help of his lawyer, Sue Thackeray. The 30-year-old will therefore keep a much larger slice of the pie.
Hamilton will duel with Nico Rosberg again this weekend on the circuit where the gloves came off after their row last year. The 30-year-old claimed on Monday that he did not “really remember too much about” the fall-out, although it will be a major topic for discussion when the paddock meets on Wednesday.
For Manor, at the back of the grid, they return to the site of the only points scored in their history by Jules Bianchi, but it is tinged with sadness, seven months on from the accident which nearly killed the Frenchman. The 25-year-old remains in hospital nearby in Nice.
Meanwhile, Pirelli, Formula One’s tyre supplier, has promised to deliver the apparently impossible: overtaking around the tight streets of Monte Carlo. The Italian firm will be bringing a new version of its softest, fastest tyre, which it says will improve the racing on the circuit.