McLaren rule out Hamilton’s return
We’re happy with line-up, says team chief
McLAREN will not enter a bidding race to reunite Lewis Hamilton with the team that launched his career.
Hamilton is almost certain to win his sixth Formula One world title at the US Grand Prix today — 11 years after his first with the British team.
He only needs to finish in the top eight to claim the crown — and could finish lower and still triumph if his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas fails to win in Austin.
Bottas kept his dream alive by taking pole for today’s race in qualifying yesterday... but Hamilton was fifth and seems in control.
Hamilton has hinted he is minded to stay with the Silver Arrows when his £ 40million- a- year contract expires after next season. And he and the team are in the first stages of negotiations. But with new regulations announced for 2021, McLaren are — supposedly — hoping to move themselves up the pecking order.
They will potentially be helped by switching to Mercedes engines, an arrangement that would not prevent them signing Hamilton.
But chief executive Zak Brown says he intends to stick with Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz: ‘No, I would not anticipate us signing Lewis in 2021. I am very happy with our current driver line-up.’
Hamilton jumped straight into a winning car at McLaren in 2007 and won the title the following season. It is very different now for Norris, the latest British rookie. His best finishes this season are two sixth places, though McLaren have shown improvement on recent seasons.
Norris, 19, paid tribute to Hamilton, saying: ‘ He’s a guy I’ve always looked up to. I hope in the future to emulate him but my equipment’s not the same as when he joined Formula One with McLaren.’
Norris has had a mixed year, qualifying well but scoring only 35 points, 41 fewer than Sainz. Two other youngsters have made bigger reputations — Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, but they are more experienced at 22.
Damon Hill, t he 1996 world champion, believes Hamilton would rather stay at Mercedes than go up against either of the rising stars.
‘Lewis’ future is a matter of how motivated he is,’ said Hill. ‘He has a lot of interests away from Formula One but if you said to him in five years when he is 39, “Do you want to drive a world championship-winning car?” I would be surprised if he turned it down.
‘That said, something has got to keep him interested.
‘He might be interested in a move to Ferrari but he is also probably content with his legacy at Mercedes. Lewis wouldn’t want to battle it out against a young team-mate. I am not sure he would want that pressure.’