Hakkinen to Become Hamilton's Manager?

Yesterday, it was confirmed that Lewis Hamilton's interests in Formula One and beyond will no longer be represented by his father Anthony. However, the 2008 Formula One champion did not reveal the name of his future manager, as he's yet to make that decision in the upcoming few weeks. Until then, McLaren put their driver under the management of Monaco based sports management Aces Group.

The aforementioned firm has been ran for some time by long-time manager Didier Coton, but the interesting fact about it is that former McLaren champion Mika Hakkinen is also an employee there for more than a year, since joining Coton in November 2008.

Which takes us to at least the assumption that Hakkinen could take on a management role with Hamilton. While still very close to his former title-winning team McLaren Mercedes, it has been reported that Hakkinen is also getting along quite well with Hamilton also. When asked about it, Coton argued that such an opportunity should not be turned down for anything.

“It is up to Lewis and the team. He is taken good care of as it is (by McLaren). But if I was asked to get involved I would definitely be interested,” said Coton, according to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.

Hakkinen won 2 consecutive world titles in F1 with McLaren Mercedes in the late '90s, before retiring from the series in 2001. After taking some years off motor racing, he returned to racing in 2005, inside the DTM, a career that he later ended in 2007. At the end of 2008, the Finn confirmed his definitive quit from motorsport, taking a new challenge in the drivers' management business.

However, Hakkinen is not the only guy linked with a management role for Ham, as current BBC pundit Martin Brundle has also been thrown into the rumor mill by the British media in recent hours. The former GP driver has managed David Coulthard in the past and is a former McLaren driver himself, having contested for the British team back in 1994.