Having not been in title contention for the past couple of seasons – although in the title fight last year, he ended up 4th overall – Hamilton hinted that unless his team hands him a competitive car with which he can challenge Red Bull for F1 supremacy, he might be forced to look elsewhere for a job from 2013 onwards.
“I have always enjoyed racing here and would like to continue but you also, at the end of the year, have to assess what position you are in and what happened,” he told British reporters in China, while insisting that his primary aim in Formula 1 is to win titles.
On Friday afternoon however, asked to further elaborate on his comments, Ham insisted that his commitment to McLaren is intact and has been like that ever since his first contact with the team, at 6 years of age.
“There is no question of my loyalty for my team. It's been my team since I was six years old,” he insisted. “I'm here, I'm committed to them. I want to try and help them as well as becoming one of the most successful drivers myself. I want them to be out there to do that for me.”
“If you look at our performance over the years I think you can say I'm the only who has won a grand prix every year, so I've had a winning car every season. No other team can say that for the last five years. That's quite a positive thing.”
Earlier this season, following the Australian Grand Prix, several rumors had linked Hamilton to a potential move to Red Bull from 2012. While the Austrian company admitted the Brit is on their list, the 2008 F1 champion denied interest.
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