F1 News
Date: 5/October/2012
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh is open to the possibility of Lewis Hamilton one day returning to the team, whilst excited at the potential of replacement Sergio Perez.
Hamilton, who made his 2007 F1 debut with McLaren and won the World Championship the following season, is to cut his 14-year McLaren ties in search of a ‘new challenge’ at Mercedes.
Whitmarsh denied feeling ‘betrayed’ by Hamilton’s decision and insisted a McLaren comeback could happen in the long term.
“Certainly, yes,” said Whitmarsh. “But I think he's joining a strong team in Mercedes and I don't think he'll be coming back any time soon.
“I don't think Lewis's intention is to hop from team to team on an annual basis. I'm sure that's not Ross's [Brawn, Mercedes team principal] intention either, but never say never, and we'll see what happens in the future.”
Whitmarsh added: “Lewis is a great driver and Mercedes, I'm sure, are very happy to have him and therefore losing a driver like that is something that, as a team principal, you don't set out to do.
“But if [as Hamilton is reported as saying] there's nothing we could have put on the table which would have kept him then it makes me feel a whole lot better.”
Adding an extra level of complexity to the Hamilton switch is the fact that Mercedes is also McLaren’s engine supplier.
Many have pointed to the 2014 F1 engine changes as a major pull factor for Hamilton joining Mercedes, the implication being that the official Mercedes team will receive preferential treatment relative to McLaren.
Whitmarsh stressed that McLaren has a “fantastic partnership” with Mercedes, while Ross Brawn quashed talk of engine favouritism.
“Our agreement with McLaren is to supply engines to the same specification,” said Brawn. “Our ambition is to have the best engine in 2014 and McLaren will have that engine as well.”
The fallout from the Hamilton deal has also seen present Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher opt to retire, for a second and final time, while Sauber’s Sergio Perez has been handed a dream chance to take Hamilton’s place at McLaren.
Perez, 22, is presently in his second year of F1 with Sauber and has scored three podiums this season.
“Sergio’s about the same age now as Lewis was when he started in Formula One, so Sergio’s some way further down the learning curve [than Lewis in 2007],” said Whitmarsh.
“That makes it intriguing and exciting to see what we can do and how he can develop.
“The goal is to have him in a condition where he can go into that first race of 2013 with the potential to win it.”
Hamilton was second fastest behind Red Bull’s Mark Webber during Friday practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Webber’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso fifth.
Alonso leads Vettel by 29-points with six races to go.
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