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Brawn all but admits Hamilton interest

ESPN Staff
September 27, 2012 « Williams confirms cause of Senna's burns | 'Mercedes offer him much greater freedom on the commercial side' »
Speculation has been ongoing for a number of weeks that Lewis Hamilton could partner Nico Rosberg at Mercedes next season © Sutton Images
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Ross Brawn has all but admitted that Mercedes holds an interest in Lewis Hamilton but insists Michael Schumacher's future is still undecided.

Hamilton is believed to be the subject of an offer from Mercedes to replace Schumacher in 2013, with McLaren reported to have made a counter offer to keep him at the team. Hamilton refused to talk about his future during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, but when asked if there had been any approach made Brawn admitted Hamilton is the calibre of driver that Mercedes is monitoring.

"I think any ambitious team looks at the top drivers and we're an ambitious team," Brawn told BBC Radio 5 Live. "But I think there's an awful lot of speculation. We will have - I think - some things to say in the next few weeks and the next few months and then all will become clear."

When pressed if he'd like to have Hamilton at Mercedes Brawn replied: "He's a very good driver. A very good driver."

Brawn also remained coy on Schumacher's future, but hinted that it was not a decision that was solely up to the seven-time world champion.

"It's still under discussion I'm afraid, I can't comment very much on that. Michael's been a huge asset to the team; he's really taken us forward. I do think Michael contributes an awful lot so I think the decision for Michael to stay or continue is a difficult one. Obviously he is very involved in that decision and discussions are going on at the moment."

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