- F1 driver Lewis Hamilton is still searching for a new manager.
- Hamilton fired his father as manager in March.
- Anthony Hamilton had nurtured his son's racing career from an early age.
LONDON — The rift between Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and his father, triggered when Hamilton fired him as his manager, appears to have been mended, but the driver is still searching for a replacement.
The father-son tandem split in March, just weeks prior to the beginning of the current season. Anthony Hamilton had nurtured his son's racing career from go-karts at an early age up through the junior ranks of single-seaters to today's current superstardom.
The 25-year-old McLaren driver, who won the 2008 F1 driving championship, was quoted in the U.K.'s Telegraph on May 6 as saying, "He sent me a message to let me know he is supporting me and if I need anything he is there, which is all I've ever wanted from my dad.... More and more he's coming to terms with it. It's just been a hard transition but I'm looking forward to restarting our relationship."
The situation is not unlike that of American racing star Jeff Gordon, whose stepfather, John Bickford, lost his managerial role when Gordon chose someone else to direct his business affairs in 1995, after he won his first NASCAR Winston Cup title.
Bickford has since reunited with his son and is director of Jeff Gordon, Inc.
Gordon still has a third party, Just Marketing International, which, according to company founder Zak Brown, handles "anything that's Jeff Gordon business, other than him driving a racecar."
Among the service providers Hamilton is considering is talent agency IMG, which represented Gordon until recently, and has a roster of clients including superstar golfer Tiger Woods.
Inside Line says: Hamilton follows his ambition to promote himself as a worldwide brand in the manner of Woods, soccer star David Beckham and others. — David Green, Correspondent
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