Lewis Hamilton says he will sort his future plans soon – Formula 1 news
Lewis Hamilton has said that he will be looking to resolve his future early into the 2012 season.
Hamilton has suggested that he will be ending the lingering speculations over his future as his contract with McLaren expires at the end 2012 season. Speculations have linked Hamilton to be in talks with Red Bull as had a meeting with Red Bull team Principal
Christian Horner at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton has been with McLaren since 2007 and after having a successful campaign in his debut season for the team, won the world title in 2008. However, McLaren have since struggled to develop a winning car and that has also hindered Hamilton’s success as
well. The last year was particularly poor for the Brit as on and off-field issues hindered his performances. Hamilton was criticised for his on-track behaviour and was penalised for one of his crashes with Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.
“At the moment the focus is on the preparation we have coming up for the season,” Hamilton told the Press Association. “Probably after the first couple of races it's something we will probably want to get out of the way.”
“We can then focus on the rest of the year without the team being concerned and without it being something hanging around, so then you guys (the media) won't have to ask questions about it. So I'll try to get that out of the way at some stage, probably in
the earlier part of the year rather than later,” he said.
If Hamilton does decide to leave McLaren he will have quite a few opportunities to look into as Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes might all be looking to hire a driver for the available race seats. Mark Webber, Schumacher and Massa are all in line for their
contract expirations at the end of 2012.
Hamilton might not want to go for Ferrari as the Brit would not fancy a partnership with the Italian by looking at their history.
Mercedes might be a step down for him if they do not perform well enough in the 2012 season which leaves Red Bull as the perfect choice but partnering Vettel might pose different challenges altogether for the Brit.
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