Hamilton says he is “not trying to move” to Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton insists he is “not trying to move” away from his “dream team” Mercedes amid continued speculation linking him with a sensational switch to Formula 1 rivals Ferrari.

Hamilton is in the final year of his Mercedes contract and despite being expected to remain at the team he has claimed five of his six world championships with, rumours of a Ferrari move have failed to disappear in recent months.

With Sebastian Vettel in the process of negotiating a new deal to stay at Ferrari, a report in British newspaper The Sun last week suggested Hamilton’s hopes of a move to Maranello had been dashed.

But in a response to the story, Hamilton wrote on Instagram: “First off, there is no dream of a dash to another team. I am with my dream team.

“Second, there's not a thing in my way as I’m not trying to move. I’m with the people who have cared from day 1. We are the best team!”

Hamilton has since deleted the post from his Instagram story.

Ferrari has repeatedly moved to cool talk of Hamilton moving to the Italian outfit after speculation ramped up during the 2019 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Scuderia team principal Mattia Binotto stressed at the start of the year that Vettel remained Ferrari’s number one choice for 2021, while the German said he fully expects a contract renewal to be agreed before the 2020 F1 season begins following delays caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking during a telephone conference last week, Vettel told selected media: “It obviously depends when we will have the first race and there is a high chance that we will have to make a decision before because at the moment it looks like there will be no race before June or even July."