With his contract expiring at the end of this year, Lewis Hamilton has been the subject of much speculation, but at McLaren there is no rush for the Englishman to stay: in fact, he is expected to be tied down for a long time.
With the signing of Mark Webber for Red Bull the drivers market seems blocked and it is possible that Hamilton will accept the offer from the Woking team. “I expect we will sign a long-term contract”, said McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh. “Lewis has been a member of this team for a long time, we've always focused on one season at a time. I think there has been more speculation, more concern, more interest in this situation in the media than perhaps within the team or in Lewis' mind."
With Hamilton saying he needs to win and McLaren now in fourth place in the Constructors' championship, Whitmarsh argued there was a need to think about the current season. “No, I don't think two bad races could damage Hamilton's chances of keeping on, because we will go into the next two races trying to win. We need to think about this now and if the negotiations continued beyond the summer break it would not worry me. What is certain is that for both parties it is something that should be determined, preferably by the end of the season. I don't think there's any need to do it in a short time frame.", concluded the McLaren boss.
Lorena Bianchi
View Comments (14)
don't ruin yourself champion... sign a pre-contract with red bull for 2014.. with these from mclaren you sign for just one year
no lewis...don't do it...please!!!!!!!!!!
These are life-changing decisions: RB is strong but...how much longer will Newey stay??! McLaren has shown over the years that it can always fight with the top teams!
So now I have to resign myself to not seeing Hamilton in Ferrari.
And everything suggests that Vettel will join Ferrari in 2014. I would have preferred Hamilton...
but what are we kidding, exchanging Mclaren for Redbull, now objectively, leaving support or sympathy aside for a moment, it is a team that has made the history of F1 on the one hand, and a team that is instead riding the wave of success for only a couple of years, as was Benetton in 1994-5, and which probably (maybe I will be proven wrong) does not see F1 as a very long-term project, Mclaren will not be a rocket at the moment, but it is certainly a guarantee of performance and solidity for years to come, and a pilot knows this...
Mateschitz has said more than once that when Red Bull stops performing well the F1 project will be abandoned.
So I agree with you, Hamilton is right to renew with Mclaren.
I don't know Lewis, the long term scares me a bit...
with the new regulations that will arrive for engines and a Mclaren no longer supported by an official manufacturer (Mercedes now has its own team) I see it as very risky........
and you have to win at least 3 world championships...
no more because you're not the type to arrive and make a clean sweep and bore everyone with 5,6,7,8 world championships...
you are the crystalline talent who fights and triumphs and brings home 3 hard-earned world championships that people will remember forever...
lew don't do bullshit, you don't need a permanent contract to get by, think about your career.
I don't care who you go with just that you win
Lewis changes come to us listen to me ;)
I'll start from the beginning by clarifying that Mclaren is a TOP TEAM, a team that has made the history of this sport, which has a tradition together with Ferrari!
The only team with which Mclaren can be compared is Ferrari, the others are not even comparable!
Mclaren has raised Lewis since he was a child, brought him to his debut, in 2007 they put a missile in his hands and only he with his hands, his mistakes, and the internal struggle with Alonso, made him that the world championship should go to Raikkonen!
In 2008 the dream came true, Hamilton is world champion with a Mclaren!
In 2009 there was a change in the rules, the season started off uphill, undisputed dominance between Brawn and Red Bull but at the end of the season the car was there and we took some satisfaction away from it!
In 2010 and 2011 we were among the challengers who won the most, the only ones who could represent a threat to Red Bull, stronger and more constant even than Ferrari!
This year was a complete failure, we all expected to be able to win and even Lewis himself, due to the great potential shown in the first GPs but that didn't happen!
As a fan I am very disappointed but you also need to look around with objective eyes!
If Lewis doesn't stay at Mclaren with the signing of Webber it wouldn't open up much better scenarios for him, Lotus has made a strong car this year there's no denying it but they haven't won a race yet and no one knows for sure if we can do it again next year!
Ferrari is doing better than us this year but I don't think they are capable of winning this world championship, furthermore with Alonso in the team the pressure and rivalry between the two would be like in 2007 and would only lead to unnecessary friction!
So for Lewis the best choice is to stay where he is with Mclaren he can win, we are talking about a great team, but the team must also wake up because we fans are tired of waiting too!
I totally agree with you, just a small note, you said "The only team with which Mclaren can be compared is Ferrari, the others are not even comparable!"...err maybe you meant the only team that can be compared to Ferrari and Mclaren (maybe), the others are not even comparable!, subtle but important difference :)
Yes, Ferrari won after that and is the most successful team in Formula 1 so you are right to make this clarification! After them I would only put Williams among the remaining glorious teams, for example I don't agree with Ecclestone who has already put Red Bull on a par with McLaren and Ferrari, he has only won two titles, he has neither history nor tradition, too much of a decision hurry!
yes you are right there is only one Ferrari and that is why from 2014 they will finally get the best driver around ahahahahah
..as a fan I hope he stays..also because the market is blocked in 2013..as long as Alonso is there Ferrari cannot land a "big" like Vettel or Hamilton...even if Mclaren is going badly it's always bad a constant...Lewis stay!