11/06/2012
NEWS STORY
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Even in the wake of Lewis Hamilton's excellent Montreal win, McLaren boss Ron Dennis refused to be give anything away in terms of plans to keep the world championship leader on board in 2013 and beyond.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 in the moments after the Englishman's brilliant win how contract discussions are going, Dennis replied: "It's a complex situation. He is at the end of a contract which was signed a at a time when the economy was somewhat different. Now there has to be a balance."
Pushed a little harder, Dennis added: "He's obviously going to look at what's available, where he could go, and we're going to look at who's available.
"At the end of the day, hopefully the fact that he's been part of this team from the beginning of his career will play a significant role in whatever decisions both sides make. But it's a little early to be talking about it."
While many wonder which (leading) team might have a vacancy that would give Hamilton the support he is used to, another stumbling could be money, especially with his management company, Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment, keen to exploit the Hamilton brand.
"He's very highly paid," joked Dennis, seen above celebrating the win with Hamilton, "he's certainly paid more than I am."
When it was pointed out that Hamilton, now under the guidance of personal manager Didier Coton, appears far more relaxed than last year, a season which he admitted as being his Annus Horribilis, Dennis said: "Lewis had a tough year last year for lots of reasons and not all of them on track or in car, some of them came from things that happened in his life.
"He's still a young guy," he continued, "and I always think, slightly morbidly, the last thing you learn is how to die and at the end of the day everybody learns every single day. He's in a challenging part of his life, I think he's come through it well now, he's much more focused and more relaxed, and that I think is important.
"Being relaxed is what the team needs to be. We were too tense in the last races. Some of these mistakes which were made were too much pressure and this race will relax the team as a whole."