McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton wants to shore up his future at the Woking team "after the first couple of races" of the 2012 Formula One season, with the British driver appearing certain to continue his long-time deal with the squad.
Hamilton has been linked to McLaren since his karting days, and has raced for the team in all five years of his F1 career to date.
Last year, he was linked with a switch to Red Bull after appearing to stall on a new McLaren contract and being seen in a secretive meeting at Red Bull during the Canadian GP weekend.
But since then, Hamilton has built up the suggestion that he will continue with McLaren beyond his current deal, which expires at the end of this season.
And speaking to the Press Association on Wednesday, the 2008 champion suggested that he was eager to shore up his future as soon as possible.
"At the moment the focus is on the preparation we have coming up for the season," he was quoted as saying.
"Probably after the first couple of races it's something we will probably want to get out of the way."
He added: "We can then focus on the rest of the year without the team being concerned and without it being something hanging around, so then [the press] won't have to ask questions about it.
"So I'll try to get that out of the way at some stage, probably in the earlier part of the year rather than later."
With Hamilton almost certain to remain with McLaren, and Jenson Button already signed up on a 'multi-year' deal with the team beyond this season, the future of the Woking squad appears stable.
The silly season focus for 2013 will therefore likely move to the other frontrunning teams, with both Red Bull's Mark Webber and Ferrari's Felipe Massa out of contract at the end of the season.
Webber signed a one-year extension to his contract last year, but is expected to seriously consider retirement at the end of 2012, with new Toro Rosso duo Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne closely linked with a move.
At Ferrari, meanwhile, Massa is widely expected to be dropped unless he seriously impresses in the coming season.
The likes of out-of-work Adrian Sutil, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg and the still-injured Robert Kubica have all been linked with a drive with the Scuderia for 2013.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
