Norbert Haug denies talks with Lewis Hamilton – Formula 1 news
Norbert Haug, the motorsport president of Mercedes has discharged the speculations regarding Lewis Hamilton switching to the Brackley-based team for 2013 F1 season.
Since Hamilton’s contract with McLaren is going to be expired, it has been rumoured that the British driver will take the place of Michael Schumacher in the team Mercedes.
Nevertheless, Norbert dismissed all the rumours about the matter and said that they are not having any kind of discussion with Hamilton in this regard.
“I can dismiss that speculation out of hand, as it was only ever conjured by putting two and two together,” the German marque’s Haug told Sport Bild. “Lewis was and is a Mercedes man but there are no agreements or conversations in that direction.”
Furthermore, he said that at present, they are only focusing on two major issues which include making the necessary developments plus the substantial preparations to improve the pace of their car for the races ahead and to take into account where they stand
as compared to the other contenders.
“At the moment we have one interest only — making our car as fast and reliable as possible, and then we’ll see where we stand. Only then will we talk to Michael about a possible extension,” said Haug.
The seven-time world champion, Schumacher made his comeback in F1 couple of years ago after he took his retirement in 2006. Moreover, he struggled in the first year of his return as he was completely outperformed by his teammate, Nico Rosberg. Nonetheless,
he performed reasonably well during the last season with his best result of fourth finish in Canadian GP.
During this season Schumacher after retiring in the season opener due to an issue in the gearbox has managed to score only one point for his team in the second race at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
Additionally, Hamilton has shown quite a consistent performance in the first two races as he has secured poles and third finish in both the races.
Moreover, he has expressed that he is prepared to make the necessary sacrifice in his personal and professional life in this season to improve his performance as compared to the preceding year.
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