Lewis Hamilton irritated by Mercedes contract delays

Hamilton, in the final season of an initial three-year agreement, previously stated that he was hopeful of putting pen to paper ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

But as the Formula 1 paddock arrived in China, Hamilton – who has represented himself in the negotiation process – said a new deal remains unsigned.

"I think it's unlikely," Hamilton told Sky Sports, when asked if he expects to sign this week.

"Obviously at the last race I said it would be done within a week. This is my first time negotiating myself and you don't know how many times I've had to read… 80 pages, I don't know – it is so much reading.

"It's all in lawyer's jargon, so it has been a quite a pain in the backside to be honest."

Moving to on track matters, Hamilton expressed his desire for a battle with the Ferrari duo in Shanghai, after Sebastian Vettel made use of the hot conditions and a two-stop strategy to win in Malaysia.

"This is a race where it's much cooler than the last race," Hamilton said of the Shanghai event.

"I think it will be really interesting, but I'm up for a race, and I hope that we ultimately have a race with these [Ferrari] guys. They are just as quick on the straights, they had amazing pace at the last race.

"Hopefully the fans get to see some battling between myself and Sebastian, that'd be really cool."