Lewis Hamilton will harbour no regrets if he never drives for Ferrari, insisting he'd be perfectly content to end his career in F1 with Mercedes.
A silly season in F1 hardly goes by without speculation emerging about Hamilton and Ferrari.
While the conjecture has likely been wide of the mark, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted that Hamilton passing through the gates of Maranello was a prospect that had come up during the German team's most recent contract negotiations with its driver.
However, Hamilton doubts a move to the Scuderia will ever be part of his "game plan".
"I don't know if it's about being tempted [to join Ferrari]. I think it's about whether it's part of the game plan," he said, speaking at Monza ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
"I was just asked the question, 'how would you feel if you ended your career without being at Ferrari?'
"Honestly, when you're part of Mercedes, you're part of a family for a lifetime, provided you stay with them obviously.
"If you look at Stirling Moss, even Fangio is still honoured within the family… you're part of their history, and they look after you for the rest of your life.
"That is important to me. Loyalty is a very, very key part.
"But if there's a point in my life where there's something I want to change, then that could potentially be an option. I don't know if that is at the moment."
Hamilton's dominance in F1 has led to the Brit assuming the role of villain in F1 in the eyes of the Tifosi.
But the Mercedes star has noticed over the years an improvement of his relationship with the ebullient die-hard Ferrari supporters.
“I’m very lucky, I do have a good Italian following," he claimed.
"I think it’s grown a lot over the years. It takes a long time to shift perception.
“You still come here and stand on top of the podium and 90-plus per cent is all Ferrari fans and often they come here and I’ve made the weekend not so great for Ferrari fans by having Mercedes on the top step," Lewis admitted.
"But I appreciate and respect them a huge amount and in fact when I now come a lot of Ferrari fans ask me to come to Ferrari so it’s quite cool.
"I get a lot of messages from Ferrari fans who say ‘I’m a Ferrari fan but I respect you’.
"So I think it’s growing slowly, bit by bit. It’ll never be the same as if I was driving for the Ferrari team but nonetheless, bit by bit, it’s shifting."
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