Anthony Hamilton reveals thinking behind Lewis's switch to Mercedes in 2012

Anthony Hamilton says he was never worried about his son’s move to Mercedes as he always knew Lewis could find another front-running team if the Silver Arrows didn’t produce.

Hamilton quit McLaren, who had guided his junior career, at the end of 2012 and gambled on the German outfit producing a dominant car when F1’s new turbo era was born in 2014.

The risk paid off as he claimed a second world title, but Hamilton Snr says he knew his son could always find another seat if the Mercedes wasn’t a front-runner.

“No, there was never any worry because we have known Mercedes for a long time and those guys are motor racers,” he told Sky Sports Online.

”And so we knew that if it wasn’t this year, it would next year so there was no real worry. And apart from that we had great belief in Lewis’ ability to get another job – he is a world champion, there would have been room for him somewhere.”

However, despite his confidence in his son’s abilities, Hamilton senior has admitted that the decision provoked split emotions as Lewis opted to leave the team which had nurtured his career from boyhood.

“In this industry you have to be loyal I think – that is the first thing you need to have in your rucksack – because there are only a handful of teams, and there are certainly only a handful at the front that are always going to be at the front, and so to a degree when you are deciding to leave to one of the biggest names in the sport to go to another team that is relatively new and relatively unproven you do have to think about it.

“As it turned out it was the right decision for Lewis and to be quite honest sometimes a change is as good as a rest. At the time my loyalties were to McLaren and I think Lewis’s were as well, but the excitement of doing something new and taking a leap into the unknown is really what excited him.”

Hamilton’s three-year deal with Mercedes expires at the end of the upcoming 2015 campaign. Talks regarding an extension were shelved last year in order to allow the Englishman to concentrate on his title fight with Nico Rosberg. Talks are expected to open this winter, with Mercedes recently admitting that Fernando Alonso would top their shortlist of alternatives if an agreement isn’t reached with Hamilton.

"There's no hurry, we'll discuss it during the year," team boss Toto Wolff told Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

"I'm an optimist. The priority is to continue with these drivers [Hamilton and Nico Rosberg]. Should it not be possible, then Alonso represents the first alternative, then there's Bottas."

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