Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur says seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has not been approached by the Italian outfit regarding a drive with the team in F1 in 2024.
Earlier this week, a report in the Italian media claimed that Ferrari chairman John Elkann was set to offer Hamilton a whopping $50 million to leave Mercedes at the end of this season and move to the Scuderia.
Since last year, Hamilton has endured a challenging period with his former championship winning squad due to the underperformance of its machines. The Briton's last race victory in F1 dates all the way back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
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Hamilton, who is in talks with Mercedes over extending his contract with the Brackley team beyond 2023, has repeatedly said that he does not plan on jumping ship, insisting the German outfit is his "family" while also emphasizing the close relationship he enjoys with team boss Toto Wolff.In Monaco on Thursday, Vasseur unequivocally denied the recent hearsay.
"As a joke, I could say two weeks ago you sent Sainz to Audi and one week ago you sent Leclerc to Mercedes and now I am alone," he said, mocking the media's recent reports.
"But you know that at this stage of the season, you will have each week a different story and we are not sending an offer to Lewis Hamilton. We didn’t do it. We didn’t have discussions.
"I think every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage, but it would be bullshit to not say something like this.
"If I have discussed with Hamilton, I have had discussed the last 20 years I have discussed with him almost every single weekend with Hamilton. I don’t want to have to stop having discussions with him because you are chasing me."
©Ferrari
Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are contracted to the Scuderia for 2024, which represents, if necessary, another barrier to a move to Maranello by Hamilton.
Vasseur said the recent speculation did not compel either driver to ring him up to deny the gossip.
"They didn’t have to reassure me last week when you sent them to Sauber, or for Charles it was Mercedes," said the Frenchman.
"They didn’t come to see me, ‘Fred, don’t worry, it’s not true’. We are used to it, we know that each week, we will have new rumors, and we are just focused on the event."
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