Lewis Hamilton's pit talks fuel rumours of switch to Red Bull
Lewis Hamilton's pit talks fuel rumours of switch to Red Bull
• Agent issues denial after meeting in Montreal paddock
• Button defends 'super-talented' McLaren team-mate
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Paul Weaver in Montreal
guardian.co.uk, Monday 13 June 2011 19.24 BST
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McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is known to be increasingly frustrated that he does not have a world championship-winning car. Photograph: Crispin Thruston/Action Images
A meeting between Lewis Hamilton and Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, will further fuel speculation concerning the British driver's unsettled state of mind.
The 15-minute meeting took place in the paddock at the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday evening. A spokesman for Hamilton's new agent, Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment, said: "Neither Lewis nor his management are in discussions with rival teams and Lewis remains totally committed to winning the world championship with McLaren."
It is unlikely that Hamilton and Horner would meet for contract discussions in one of the world's most gossipy places; such a meeting would have taken place in a hotel and would have gone on for longer.
But Hamilton, who is contracted to McLaren until the end of next season, is known to be increasingly frustrated that for the third successive season he will not add to the solitary world title he won in 2008. He drives a good car but it is not a world championship-winning car.
Hamilton and Red Bull just might get together in 2013. Certainly Red Bull's marketing men would love to work with the sport's most bankable commodity, for Hamilton is pure box office.
Others at the Milton Keynes team believe Red Bull are doing just fine and do not need Hamilton. Earlier this year, Horner, speaking about the McLaren driver, said: "There tends to be fireworks, as we saw with Fernando Alonso and Lewis [in 2007]."
It is clear that all is not well with Hamilton, who crashed in the last two races and has had a succession of run-ins with stewards. He could also have been banned by the FIA for six races following his outspoken comments after Monaco.
His position is not being helped by Sir Stirling Moss and Niki Lauda. Moss, 81, said: "He's going a bit too far in some cases. He's a terrific driver, he's got great aggression and he's an exciting driver, which is important because it's a television sport now. But his handling of himself is not that good. His father is no longer his manager, which is a problem. If they could get together it would be a good thing."
When Hamilton broke off his professional relationship with his father, Anthony, last season he became a much happier, more relaxed man. After a difficult few months father and son are now reconciled but it would appear it is better they do not work together.
Lauda said after Hamilton's collision with his team-mate, Jenson Button, in Sunday's race: "What Hamilton did there goes beyond all boundaries. He is completely mad. You cannot drive like this – and it will result in someone getting killed."
Lauda was not known for his aggression and referring to his comments on Monday a McLaren spokesman said: "It's a bit like Geoff Boycott criticising Kevin Pietersen for scoring a century too fast."
Stewart, like Lauda a three-times world champion, got closer to the truth when he said: "I think Niki was being a bit hard on Lewis but Niki is a man who should be listened too. To finish first you must finish and not be running into people all the time. He's having too many collisions with too many drivers. And he can't blame the stewards, because there is a different set at every race.
"I'm a great supporter of Lewis but I think he's hiding under blinkers at the moment. You can't keep going for gaps that don't exist. And if he's blaming the car and the team that's just unprofessional. No driver had the perfect car."
After the most brilliant win of his career, Button has again been overshadowed by Hamilton but he, too, distanced himself from Lauda's comments. "I don't agree. I think his driving style is aggressive and he always goes for gaps. Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's not, but it's the same for all of us.
"He finds himself in that situation more often than others. Lewis is a character, one that Formula One obviously loves. He's in the headlines a lot because he is bloody good. He's a racer, a fighter and that is the reason why I wanted to be here, against and with a driver who is super talented, one of the best drivers Formula One has ever seen. You can't really change as a driver.
"I did an interview with Alain Prost in Monaco and he said the way you drive shows your character and the person you are. When you listen to him speaking, he is very calm and it's exactly how he was on the circuit."
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Lewis Hamilton · McLaren · Motor sport · Red Bull · Jenson Button · Formula One
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