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Hamilton to be managed by Coton

Didier Coton will manage Lewis Hamilton having previously worked with McLaren's double world champion Mika Hakkinen © Sutton Images

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Lewis Hamilton will have a new day-to-day manager after his management company XIX Entertainment appointed Didier Coton.

Coton - who runs his own company Aces Management - used to manage Mika Hakkinen and Olivier Panis, while more recently he has been working with Oliver Turvey and has elevated Valtteri Bottas from GP3 champion directly to Williams test driver. Observers had been critical of the handling of Hamilton by Simon Fuller's company last year, and Fuller has moved to bring in someone with more Formula One experience. Hamilton welcomed the appointment and praised Fuller for creating a more relevant team.

"Simon is committed to creating a team that will help me achieve my ambitions for 2012 and beyond," Hamilton is quoted by The Guardian. "Didier's appointment builds on the existing strengths of XIX and I am delighted to have him as part of the team. I'm positive about the season ahead and can't wait to start."

Coton said that he was looking to help Hamilton prosper under XIX's "visionary approach".

"Being appointed by Simon to join the team is a great honour," he said. "I am excited to work alongside two such prestigious personalities and talents. XIX's visionary approach is unique and one I believe in. I look forward to helping Lewis achieve success and developing long term projects with Simon and his team."

Following the announcement, Fuller admitted that it had been Coton's knowledge of the sport that had led to the appointment.

"We have ambitious plans and this shows our commitment to remain in the sport for the long term," he said. "Didier will bring knowledge and expertise to our team and I look forward to working with him."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.