Bernie Ecclestone has reported to the press, in 2012 when the Lewis Hamilton contract saga took place, Bernie was a close confidant of Lewis Hamilton. The F1 supremo claims that Hamilton was considering taking a break from competing in F1 rather than stay with the Woking based outfit McLaren.
Ron Dennis told Bernie that Lewis' decision to leave McLaren was nothing to do with the money that McLaren were offering Lewis. He simply wanted out of McLaren. Lewis told Ron Dennis that sponsors events (Vodafone namely) were his main reason, he wanted more time with Nicole Scherzinger.
Bernie Ecclestone told
The Sun: "Lewis told me he would rather take a year off than stay at McLaren, I don't know why it came to blows. But in fairness to Lewis, he never left over money. The money was always there for
Lewis. He just wanted out, I have no idea why"
Lewis made an excellent start to his Mercedes career, finishing 5th.
silencing his critics. Which was a massive lift to the team after the end of last season. Ecclestone also says the 2008 world champion still has a chance of becoming the World Champion again at Mercedes. He claims Mercedes have the best engine in F1 and one of the best drivers (Hamilton) in the world.
Meanwhile, Force India says that Adrian Sutil adressed all of his weak spots in his year off. "He has come back to the team with so much more organisation and all of his weaknesses from 2011 have certainly been addressed, He knows how to focus and get the job done"
Force India ditched Sutil in 2011, after 5 years of service. In favor of Nico Hulkenberg.
