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F1: Silly season talks go on at Red Bull and McLaren

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Khatir Soltani
From GMM

Amid all the talk about their possible defections, Lewis Hamilton has urged McLaren to keep him paired with Jenson Button "for another three years".

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'd love to race alongside him (Button) for another three years," the 2008 world champion told the Mirror newspaper at Valencia.

While the 'silly season' predicted a move to Red Bull for Hamilton while Ferrari was reportedly eyeing Button, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh had already indicated that he wants to keep the British team's lineup together.

Meanwhile, Helmut Marko insists Red Bull has not decided whether Mark Webber should remain Sebastian Vettel's teammate at the dominant team in 2012.

But the Red Bull's driver manager doesn't think the 2008 world champion is available. "To our knowledge he is with McLaren until 2013, which is a long time," said the Austrian.

"We need someone who is as good as Sebastian, because we have found that the constructors' title is very interesting financially, and you can do it only with two strong drivers," insisted Marko.

Australian Webber, 34, helped Red Bull win the 2010 titles and almost won the drivers' championship himself, but has struggled alongside Vettel in the otherwise-dominant RB7.

"He has told us that he wants to go on with us for another year. We are looking at this," admitted Marko. "Stability is important for a team."

He played down the likelihood that Toro Rosso drivers Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari are ready for the move to Red Bull.

"Our young guys at Toro Rosso have missed the last little spark (for that)," said Marko.

The heat is particularly on Jaime Alguersuari, who is said to be in immediate danger of losing his seat to the next Red Bull hotshoe, Daniel Ricciardo.

"In the simulator and in practice, his results are very good, but we need to see what he can do in the race," said Marko.


Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
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