• McLaren news

Hamilton won't leave while McLaren is competitive

Lewis Hamilton: "As long as we have the car that can do the job, there will be no reason to leave" © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News:
• Hamilton defends driving style
  
• The Pits:
• Hamilton tries his hand at NASCAR
  
• News:
• Hamilton's new Red Bull link denied
  

• Drivers:
• Lewis Hamilton

• Teams:
• McLaren

Lewis Hamilton has said he has no reason to leave McLaren as long as the team continues to supply him with a competitive car.

His current contract ends in 2012 and it has been speculated that he might be lining up a move to Red Bull after he met with team boss Christian Horner at the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend. The story was nipped in the bud by Hamilton's management team, but he still faced questions from the media at a promotional event at Watkins Glen on Monday.

"In terms of where I am, I'm again just very fortunate to be a part of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," he said when asked whether he was considering a move to Red Bull or even NASCAR. "It's one of the best teams there, again with great history. We have a car that is capable of winning, as my team-mate showed at the weekend. We are the only other team that has won grands prix this year.

"I don't see why you would particularly want to move when you have the most competitive car. So as long as we have the car that can do the job, there will be no reason to leave."

Asked directly if he met with Horner in Canada, Hamilton responded: "I know all the managers, the bosses, all the teams. I know Stefano Domenicali, we chat all the time. I've known Christian since I was in the lower series, when I was going from Formula 3 to GP2, Christian was running an F3000 team and I used to speak to him back then. I spoke to a lot of people last weekend."

On the subject of switching to another series, he said: "I grew up wanting to be Formula One world champion. I've definitely not achieved all that I want to. I'll definitely be spending as much time there until I do achieve what I've always wanted to do."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.