Lewis Hamilton on Monday said he was not involved in determining the identity of his McLaren teammate for the 2008 season.
The 22-year-old rookie was recently quoted as musing on a likely trio to replace Fernando Alonso next year, but in London he clarified that he will not actually have any input into selecting the successful nominee.
“It’s a team decision and nothing to do with me,” Hamilton, speaking with reporters in the British capital as he launched his first biography entitled ‘My Story’, insisted.
“I don’t need to get involved. I’m going to keep quiet. I have my own seat. The car will be built around me and whoever joins,” he added.
And although in Stuttgart at the weekend he said Nico Rosberg was the “best” of the hopeful trio including Adrian Sutil and Heikki Kovalainen, Hamilton also did not baulk at wild speculation that Michael Schumacher might even be lured out of retirement to race the MP4-23.
“Cool. Go for it,” he said in a message to the seven time world champion. “That would be brilliant. He’s an incredible driver.”
Hamilton, meanwhile, said he was not aware that he had been attacked by the press in recent days for failing to admit that his impending move to Switzerland is in fact to dodge high taxes.
He also admitted to being “surprised” that he was criticised for blaming over-eager British fans for the move. The latest negative piece appeared in The Times, which slammed Hamilton for shying away from British fans “only then to appear on ITV’s National Television Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards”.
“First of all we are here to talk about the book,” he snapped, before adding: “I speak from the heart, but perhaps I need to learn better communication skills.
“There is so much more than driving the car to this business these days,” he acknowledged.
“I love my fans, but you can’t live at home all your life. You need to get out and experience living on your own, cooking for yourself.
“I don’t see why I can’t go somewhere else. And I chose Switzerland. For me, it is not a tax haven. I’ve been in England the last few years paying tax. It’s not an issue,” Hamilton added.
