Ron Dennis admits that McLaren could have kept Lewis Hamilton – Formula 1 news
Ron Dennis, who is the McLaren chairman, has admitted that McLaren could have created a situation to keep Lewis Hamilton with them for the 2013 F1 season if they wanted to.
“I think it's wrong to portray that Lewis left this team,” Dennis told CBI Magazine. “At the end of the day, you end up with a situation where you're going to separate if the circumstances aren't right. Life isn't about one person deciding anything. It's
never that way. It's about circumstances. Everybody says: ‘Am I bitterly this or bitterly that?’ What? I'm a realist. Did we have the ability to create a situation where we could have stayed together? Categorically, yes. Would that have been the right thing
to do? We didn't think so.”
He said that the team is going to be supportive of what Hamilton and his new team will be doing at the end of the British driver’s contract with McLaren. He added that McLaren cannot wish success to Hamilton on every step but they still do not wish him anything
negative.
Hamilton had announced his transfer to Mercedes AMG during the second half of the 2012 F1 season. The news had come as a surprise to most of the F1 community since Hamilton has been associated with McLaren since his childhood days. He also made his F1 debut
with the team in 2007 and won his first F1 championship with the same team during the 2008 F1 season. Hamilton is leaving McLaren after driving with them for six years.
Initially there were rumours that Hamilton was having some issues with the McLaren team which also included that there was rift between Dennis and him. However, McLaren and Dennis himself have come clear that there is no such thing.
Meanwhile, Hamilton has stated that he made the transfer because he needs a new challenge and Mercedes will provide for that purpose since the team has been struggling with its performance.
On the other hand, Mercedes team principal, Ross Brawn, has admitted that they plan to provide Hamilton and his new teammate, Nico Rosberg, with a better car in 2013.
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