Autosport Plus

Mark Hughes: F1's Inside Line

"It's interesting that McLaren considers Nick a possibility"

Autosport Magazine Nov 14, 2007, 3:00 PM

Interviewed at Mercedes' end of season celebration last week, Lewis Hamilton let something interesting slip about McLaren's possible choices of replacement for Fernando Alonso. He mentioned Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil - both names that were bandied around long before it was even confirmed that Alonso was leaving - before then mentioning Nick Heidfeld. Lewis said it in a way that suggested he assumed the rumour was already out there - but it wasn't.

This is not to suggest that Nick is the hot favourite for the drive; he has a contract with BMW that would need buying out for one thing. But it's interesting that within McLaren he is considered a possibility. He is, of course, a McLaren protege; a recipient of the same young driver support scheme that was largely responsible for Hamilton's career.