Ferrari team boss says he speaks to Hamilton at every race

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has spoken about his relationship with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton as Formula One waits for the seven-times world champion to sign a new contract with the Silver Arrows.

Hamilton won Formula Three and GP2 (now Formula Two) championships with Vasseur’s ART team in 2005 and 2006 before making a Formula One debut with McLaren in 2007.

“I talk to him at every race, he raced for me 20 years ago and we are still close,” Vasseur, who joined Ferrari in January, told Gazzetta dello Sport.

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“Clearly, if they (the media) see us together in the paddock, there’s a lot of fuss, but the relationship has remained. I don’t want to compare him to our drivers, it wouldn’t make sense.”

Hamilton, 38, was linked to Ferrari in paddock speculation earlier this year but the Briton has been clear he wants to stay at Mercedes.