Lewis Hamilton says he has no plans to switch to Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has denied suggestions he is planning a move to Ferrari when his Mercedes contract expires at the end of 2018.
Over the course of the British Grand Prix, the Daily Mail reported that Hamilton had spoken with friends about his desire to switch to the Italian team and was hoping to move to Maranello ahead of the 2019 season.
But when a fan at Silverstone asked him directly if he would move to Ferrari, Hamilton replied: "I don't have any plans to.
"I really wanted to make sure that when I came to the sport I wanted to experience being at two different teams, and to win at two different teams. People were like 'you've won with McLaren, but can you do it with another?' So I'm glad I did that.
"I'm a big fan of Ferrari, it's a fantastic team, but I love where I am. The atmosphere in my team is incredible and there are something like 1,800 people in my team just to build those two cars. It's pretty unbelievable. I love the environment and the work.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes his team is doing a good job at convincing Hamilton to stay.
"I don't know who talked about Ferrari, at least nobody in the team and not himself," he said. "What he has said was that he's a Ferrari fan, like we all are, and it's a team every driver dreams to drive in, full stop.
"He's in a very good place, he drives the fastest car at the moment and that's a Mercedes. We've a contract that goes for one and half more years and we have had the best dynamic in the team until now. All the talk has no relevance for me, zero."
Speaking in a media session after the race, Hamilton said he was only focusing on this year's championship and would reassess his long-term plans at the end of the season.
"In terms of contracts and stuff, I can't really say what's going to happen six months from now," he said. "Right now, I love driving. I'm just saying that you can't say what frame of mind I'm going to be in come Christmas time. Hopefully it's a really good one with a fourth title.
"Even in getting another championship, it would never be a case of 'now it's time to hang up my gloves'. I will always want to win more. Even when I do stop, something inside me will say I want to get more. Let's just focus at the moment and try and get that fourth."
Source: http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/20101349/lewis-hamilton-says-no-plans-switch-ferrari
Over the course of the British Grand Prix, the Daily Mail reported that Hamilton had spoken with friends about his desire to switch to the Italian team and was hoping to move to Maranello ahead of the 2019 season.
 |
| Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Mark Thompson/Getty Images |
"I really wanted to make sure that when I came to the sport I wanted to experience being at two different teams, and to win at two different teams. People were like 'you've won with McLaren, but can you do it with another?' So I'm glad I did that.
"I'm a big fan of Ferrari, it's a fantastic team, but I love where I am. The atmosphere in my team is incredible and there are something like 1,800 people in my team just to build those two cars. It's pretty unbelievable. I love the environment and the work.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes his team is doing a good job at convincing Hamilton to stay.
"I don't know who talked about Ferrari, at least nobody in the team and not himself," he said. "What he has said was that he's a Ferrari fan, like we all are, and it's a team every driver dreams to drive in, full stop.
"He's in a very good place, he drives the fastest car at the moment and that's a Mercedes. We've a contract that goes for one and half more years and we have had the best dynamic in the team until now. All the talk has no relevance for me, zero."
Speaking in a media session after the race, Hamilton said he was only focusing on this year's championship and would reassess his long-term plans at the end of the season.
"In terms of contracts and stuff, I can't really say what's going to happen six months from now," he said. "Right now, I love driving. I'm just saying that you can't say what frame of mind I'm going to be in come Christmas time. Hopefully it's a really good one with a fourth title.
"Even in getting another championship, it would never be a case of 'now it's time to hang up my gloves'. I will always want to win more. Even when I do stop, something inside me will say I want to get more. Let's just focus at the moment and try and get that fourth."
Source: http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/20101349/lewis-hamilton-says-no-plans-switch-ferrari
Post a Comment