Arrivabene: Why do I need Hamilton when I have Vettel?

Ferrari F1 boss Maurizio Arrivabene has poured cold water on speculation that Lewis Hamilton is being lined up to race for the Maranello outfit in the future.

Regarding 2016, Arrivabene’s mind appears to be made up amid reports that world champion Lewis Hamilton could be heading to Maranello from Mercedes, therefore, is dismissed.

“Why do I need Lewis Hamilton when I have a heavyweight like Vettel?” said Arrivabene. “I would rather look around for a young, talented driver to unite with Sebastian.”

Meanwhile, in the light of Arrivabene’s philosophy on drivers, he has not ruled out a move to Maranello team for Valtteri Bottas in 2017.

The Italian was interviewed by Bild am Sonntag newspaper following speculation that Bottas may already have inked a pre-agreement with Ferrari to move from Williams at the end of the season.

Finnish sources played down those reports, but elsewhere it was suggested that the Ferrari-Bottas link was actually referring to 2017.

Indeed, Arrivabene on Sunday indicated that Kimi Raikkonen is likely to keep his place alongside teammate and friend Sebastian Vettel next year.

“If he continues like this, we will extend for another year,” he said, referring to 35-year-old Raikkonen, who like Bottas is also Finnish.

“But performance alone is only one thing — I also like how he (Raikkonen) and Seb work together. They even sometimes travel together, so these are things that do influence a decision.”

Arrivabene added, “I promised in the pre-season that I would never lie to you [the media], but for this question it is too early to give a precise answer.”