Mercedes will resume contract discussions with Lewis Hamilton once it has "properly kicked off" the 2020 Formula One season.
Hamilton is entering the final year of his deal with the Silver Arrows, with whom he has won five of his six world titles.
Ferrari has been linked with a move for Hamilton, who can equal Scuderia legend Michael Schumacher's record tally of seven drivers' championships with victory in 2020.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, however, is hopeful Hamilton's extremely profitable spell with the constructor can be extended.
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"It is the obvious pairing going forward," said Wolff, speaking to the media at the announcement of Mercedes' five-year partnership with INEOS. "We would like to have the fastest man in the fastest car and I know Lewis wants to be in the fastest car.
"We travel around the world almost 10 months every year and get on each other's nerves every second weekend.
"And what we do over the winter is we leave each other in peace.
"The last conversation I had with him was the evening before the Christmas party where we had a nice chat and [agreed] we would continue our discussion once he comes back from America and we have properly kicked off the season.
"I have great belief in the ability of the team to attract the best drivers and at the moment he has proven he is the best current driver with his six titles.
"In the medium to long term I would hope that we would be able to continue to provide the technology to the best drivers and attract them."
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