Some will say Lewis Hamilton has done the dirty on his Mercedes team by making an approach to rivals Red Bull. But has he really?
Whatever they say publicly, every driver in the pit lane is talking to every team and they are talking back. Hamilton has denied the claims by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, but it only makes sense the English driver has explored his options.
A driver’s manager wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t know what seats are available and what interest exists in his driver. It’s only due diligence and the cut throat commercial reality of Formula One.
Everyone is trying to get the best deal they can. All the time. The racing often stops but the negotiating never does.
If all was cosy in the land of the Silver Arrows, Hamilton would have signed his renewal years ago instead of letting it run up to the 11th hour.
Even after winning seven championships together he wanted to squeeze a better deal out of Mercedes. And Mercedes would not have ditched Valtteri Bottas for rookie George Russell and given the Englishman equal treatment if Hamilton was their only concern.
Russell is a hell of a driver and was always going to be a competitive headache for Hamilton. But team boss Toto Wolff could not afford to find himself suddenly without a top line pilot if Hamilton retired or switched teams.
I guarantee you he knows exactly how much triple world champion Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso are paid too, and if they are open to switching teams. All the top team bosses do.
The world is stunned when such revelations surface but isn’t it just good business?
