JUNE 7, 2014

Hamilton plays down McLaren return rumours

Lewis Hamilton in Montreal sounded unlikely to be considering a return to McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton in Montreal sounded unlikely to be considering a return to McLaren.

Reporting from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Daily Mail correspondent Jonathan McEvoy claimed the Woking based team, having given the 2008 world champion his F1 debut seven years ago, has been in contact with Hamilton.

McLaren, and particularly its incoming works engine supplier Honda, is undoubtedly pushing for a top driver to head the charge in 2015, with rumours linking Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel already doing the rounds.

"For now the interest on both sides is tentative," said McEvoy, revealing the Hamilton-McLaren link.

On the face of it, a return to McLaren for Hamilton, 29, would seem unlikely. He only left the team that nurtured him from boyhood at the end of 2012, having reportedly fallen out with supremo Ron Dennis.

And now, believed to be the equal highest paid F1 driver alongside Alonso, he is at the wheel of the ultra-dominant Mercedes.

But Hamilton is also embroiled in a seismic teammate spat with Nico Rosberg as the pair tussle for the 2014 title.

"If Hamilton were to lose the title to Rosberg," said McEvoy, "imagine the trauma that would accompany that outcome."

Hamilton, however, hinted at the scene of Sunday's Canadian grand prix that while he is yet to ink a new deal, that is eventually the most likely outcome.

"At the moment no," he said when asked if he has signed a new contract, "but I have always said I feel happy in this team.

"I cannot imagine myself anywhere else in the future," the Briton is quoted by the Mirror.

(GMM)