Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton in no rush to sign new deal at McLaren

Published on Friday 20 May 2011 17:56

Lewis Hamilton is in no rush to commit himself to McLaren despite this year witnessing his two main rivals pledge their long-term futures to their teams.

In signing new contracts with Ferrari and Red Bull respectively, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have cemented their number-one status. Two months ago, Vettel committed to the end of 2014, while yesterday Alonso announced an extension to his agreement that ties him up until 2016.

It would appear the options for Hamilton, who has another year on his contract with McLaren after this season, are narrowing and the pressure is on to put pen to paper on a new deal.

But he said: "My contract is still to the end of next year, so I'm sitting pretty sweet. I'm not feeling any panic or feel there's a rush to get something signed because I am here. Of course, it's going to be good at some stage to discuss things and see what my options are."

The belief is Hamilton would be stepping into the lion's den if he were to leave McLaren, the team that has nurtured him since he was 13.

To join Red Bull or Ferrari where Vettel and Alonso rule the roost would almost certainly prove problematic for Hamilton, although he is not without belief in his own talent.

"I'm not really bothered whether they've signed a number-one seat because, at the end of the day, it is whoever is quickest within that team," added Hamilton. "They could be signed as the number one, but if their team-mate goes on to do a better job, then they could become the number one, so that doesn't worry me at all."

Being on an equal footing at McLaren with Jenson Button guarantees Hamilton a comfortable time as there is no inner-team tension that can often prove tiring. For now, the job of the British duo is to close the gap on rampant championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who holds a commanding 34-point lead over Hamilton at the top of the standings.

With the McLaren for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix boasting a raft of updates designed to close the gap, there were signs a challenge could be on the cards. Hamilton finished 0.039secs adrift of Red Bull's Mark Webber after the first practice session, with Vettel three tenths of a second behind the Briton, while Jenson Button was 0.7secs off the Australian's pace.

After making way for reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg in FP1, Force India's Paul di Resta finished in 17th, 3.6secs behind Webber, but a second and two places quicker than team-mate Adrian Sutil.