Mercedes boss refuses to rule out Lewis Hamilton joining Formula E after F1

MERCEDES chief Ian James refuses to rule out Lewis Hamilton joining Formula E in the future.

James is managing director of Merc’s FE team who will join the all-electric championship next season.

When asked about the prospect of Hamilton joining FE, James said: “That’s a question that you would have to ask Lewis!

“I wasn’t brave enough to ask the question last time I bumped into him.

“I think at the moment he’s got many years ahead of him in F1 but never say never.

“Formula E will continue to grow as a sport, as a series, and we’ll just have to wait and see how things progress.”

Hamilton exclusively revealed to SunSport he has thought about the prospect of racing in the all-electric championship once his F1 career is over.

He said: “Being that I have been racing since I was eight years old, I am going to have massive withdrawal symptoms, like every driver has when they stop racing, when Formula One stops for me.

"There are other things to do. I guess there are other series I could do. Fernando Alonso is doing Indycar and you still Kimi Raikkonen still pushing the boundaries.

"I actually grew up in the same era as Gary Paffett. He is a little bit older than me and he is now racing in Formula E and that is now going to be the future.

"So, who knows, in the future that’s maybe an area where I can use my skills but as you get older, it is more challenging to find the motivation to stay focused and you have to find something you love.”

Mercedes will takeover their sister team HWA in FE and they are yet to confirm their driver line up for next season.

Their current drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and last year’s DTM champion Gary Paffett have test driven next year’s car but James confirms they still have a decision to make.

James said: “Yes [there is a shortlist].

He added: “It’s still to be decided.

“HWA have had a great rookie season and I think both Stoffel and Gary have done brilliantly well.

“They’re the obvious names that come up but we’re not going to make any firm decisions and nor do we need to at this stage.”