Formula 1: McLaren chief Whitmarsh confident Hamilton will sign new deal

Amidst strong speculations of Lewis Hamilton leaving Team McLaren until last week, team principal Martin Whitmarsh is fully expecting the British driver to sign a new long-term contract this year.

Hamilton hinted that he will resolve his future in the Formula 1′s summer break next month after the back-to-back races in Germany and Hungary. Lewis has strongly been linked to Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus but Whitmarsh believes that Hamilton will surely sign a new deal with McLaren during the summer break.

Clearing the rumours, Whitmarsh said “Lewis has been a member of this team for a long time, and we have been concentrating on a season. I think there’s been more speculation, more concern, more interest in this situation in the media than perhaps within the team or in Lewis’ mind. We appear nowadays to be asked questions about it, but I don’t think it occupies as much time in our minds as it does in column inches.”

However, contrary to the long-term deal that Whitmarsh is expecting, Hamilton might sign a one-year deal to keep his options open for the next season. The team has been doing fairly well but not as expected by Lewis, who believes he needs a faster car if the team wants to end up on top of the table. Both the McLaren drivers, Hamilton and Jenson Button, ended up in eight and tenth position at the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton won in the Canadian GP this season but lost pace at Valencia and Silverstone. The team will be concentrating on rediscovering the lost speed in the two races before the summer break.

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