Hamilton approached by McLaren F1?
The British press claims that McLaren has allegedly contacted Lewis Hamilton regarding a possible return of the 2008 F1 World Champion, currently with Mercedes.
Currently in the fight for the title with Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton is the subject of rumors related to his future and the aftermath. Indeed, the 2008 world champion has reportedly been approached by the McLaren team, where he began his career at the start of the 2007 season before moving on to other ventures in 2013 with Mercedes.
Two British newspapers have ignited the fuse of this rumor: *The Daily Telegraph* first, explaining that after the Canadian Grand Prix, [McLaren] opened a dialogue with Lewis Hamilton, in case the psychological scars from the title fight this season at Mercedes become too great. An open dialogue, but a realization that could depend on the sporting aspect of the current season: The only circumstances under which Hamilton could leave Mercedes would come from losing the drivers’ title to Nico Rosberg.
Similar sentiments are echoed by Jonathan McEvoy, journalist for the Daily Mail: « There have been contacts between McLaren and Lewis Hamilton about a possible return to the team that saw him grow. »
But, again, the loss of the title seems to be a sine qua non condition: « There are two possible reasons […] for Hamilton to want to return. The first is that a McLaren powered by Honda has the profile to win titles. The second depends on how the season unfolds at Mercedes. If Hamilton loses the title to Rosberg, imagine the trauma that would accompany this conclusion. »
The Daily Telegraph adds—further supporting a persistent rumor since the start of the season—that Fernando Alonso appears to be a more realistic target for the Woking team: Fernando Alonso, who left the team under difficult circumstances at the end of 2007 and has become disillusioned at Ferrari, seems to be the most likely candidate, although it remains to be seen if the Spaniard can be persuaded to come for Honda’s first engine year in 2015.
If one of the two rumors were to turn into a real transfer, the question still arises as to which of the two current drivers could be affected by such an arrival. Recently, Eric Boullier, the sporting director of McLaren F1, stated that he wants to keep Jenson Button for next season. Kevin Magnussen, his young teammate from the British team’s young driver program, is currently struggling to fully convince, even though he had a rather good weekend in Austria, finishing in 7th position.
Ron Dennis, in Austria, indicated that the driver duo for the 2015 season had not been decided at the moment.
