THE KING OF Hamilton’s love affair with the struggling home of the

WITH a personal fortune fast approaching £100million, and salary and endorsements of £35m per year, perhaps Lewis Hamilton could devote a little time to thinking about subsidising Silverstone.

Bosses at Northamptonshire’s iconic Formula 1 track gave notice last week of their intention to terminate their contract seven years early after the 2019 race because they could no longer make money from it.

But after storming to his fourth consecutive win – and fifth overall – on this course of blistering times and famous corners, the racer who was born 50 miles east of here should do all he can to ensure F1 comes back at least for the rest of his career.

Make no mistake, as much as the British fans love Hamilton fighting his way round Woodcote, Becketts, Chapel and Stowe, the 32-yearold three-time world champion enjoys being on this track even more.

Five times he has started from pole position. Five times he has taken the chequered flag.

And at this rate, who would bet on that being the end of his run at Silverstone.

F1, under the new and adventurous direction of Chase Carey, is making amorous advances to the public in a bid to revive the sport’s flagging fortunes. He would have been less then impressed with Hamilton’s decision to snub Wednesday’s street event in London, with the overlords hinting at a first London Grand Prix in the same week as Silverstone served notice of its last. Hamilton (left, with Hollywood’s Owen Wilson) claimed he skipped the outing for a two-day holiday in Mykonos as he needed to reset his focus for the weekend – but perhaps there was just a hint of not wanting to betray his professional mistress, the 3.66miles of tarmac that he has courted and romanced without challenge