Martin Whitmarsh says Lewis Hamilton willing to stay in McLaren team – Formula 1
McLaren team Principal, Martin Whitmarsh, has said that 2008 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, is willing to stay in the McLaren team. Martin commented that he and Hamilton have not yet thought of a contract resigning and their full concentration is on the
races for the 2011 season. He further added that the McLaren team will be in Formula 1 for a long time compared to some of the business oriented teams.
Lots of contract signing news is surrounding Hamilton these days mainly due to the fact that he and Sebastian Vettel are the two top ranked drivers. Vettel is secure in the Red Bull team until the 2014 season but Hamilton is still unsure in the McLaren team.
Recently, Hamilton was not happy with McLaren’s pace in the Malaysian Grand Prix and commented that he might move to a team where the car is faster and more reliable. Bernie Ecclestone, Formula 1 Supremo, spiced up the rumours when he stated that Hamilton
and Vettel should race for the same team.
Nevertheless, Whitmarsh thinks that Hamilton is happy in at McLaren and said, “Lewis has a long career ahead of him and I think he's intelligent enough to realise that the environment he has here is good for him and plays to his strengths. I trust him and
I think he trusts me.”
He further added that McLaren are going to be hitting the track for a long time and Hamilton would want to stay with a proper racing team in a racing sport. Whitmarsh commented on his rivals by saying, “Ferrari can also say that with some credibility. But
a lot of other teams are selling consumer goods, cars or high-caffeine drinks. I'm not criticising them. But can they say, consequently, that they are in F1 for the long run?”
Talking about the victory in the Chinese Grand Prix, Whitmarsh commented that the race win was good but his ambition is to produce championships with the McLaren team.
The next race is almost two weeks away in Turkey and Hamilton’s car should be ready to compete against Red Bull and Vettel. If things do not look up, the Brit might end up sharing a drive with the German in 2012.
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