Lewis Hamilton has revealed that while his Mercedes team has to tell him who they are considering for the role of his new teammate in 2017, legally the Brackley based squad do not have to get his approval before making the final deal.
Basically, once they've dwindled it down to five drivers, or whatever it is, the shortlist, contractually they have to discuss with me,” he told Channel 4 television. “But I don't have a say in who it is.”
At this stage it looks like Williams racer Valtteri Bottas is in pole position to take the prized vacant seat, however there are a lot of outside factors that need to be met before the path is clear for the Finnish racer, who is actually managed by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, to move across.
With the news full of the possible deal, Lewis has yet to comment on the scenario, however he has stated that his new teammate must be a good overall fit in order to keep up a good morale.
“It is important who we have in the second car it's important for the team's morale,” he said. “We've seen in other teams and times where it can be a poisonous effect on a team, the arch-rivalry between drivers.”
Lewis comments are hinting at the time he partnered Fernando Alonso at McLaren as well as other more famous rivalries, such as Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
