LEWIS HAMILTON HAS vowed to not get distracted by the hype surrounding his contract negotiations with McLaren.
Having won last week’s Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton is second in the Formula One drivers championship and trails Fernando Alonso by 37 points.
But with the 27-year-old yet to confirm who he will race for next season, media speculation persists that Hamilton will leave McLaren, with Mercedes reportedly the most likely destination.
The 2008 world champion has denied the rumours will get to him.
“I’ve been with the team since I was 13 and we’ve worked so hard since 2009 to try and win this championship and hopefully, finally, we’re in the position where we can,” Hamilton said.
“So the most important thing is that I do not get distracted by all the rubbish that’s been around.”
While Hamilton claimed a lot of press reports ‘aren’t true’, he refused to state whether he will stay with McLaren and admitted he has no deadline to make a decision.
“I don’t have a timeline. My focus is on trying to win this world championship,” Hamilton said.
“Of course I do have to have those things sorted out but I do have people in the background working on those contract negotiations. There’s a lot of speculation, there’s a lot of stories that aren’t true.”
Hamilton struggled early this season to convert impressive qualifying speed into points but with two victories in the past three races, he is confident he can push Alonso for the 2012 title.
“We’re in a very, very strong position, we’re getting stronger and we will get stronger through the rest of this year,” Hamilton said.
