Decision will be Hamilton's

As the press continue to speculate over the future of Lewis Hamilton, a source close to his management agency insists that the decision over whether he will stay with McLaren is solely their clients.

Many in the media believe that Lewis Hamilton is now completely split over whether or not he will remain with McLaren or move to Mercedes.

Some believe it's as close as 50-50, others believe he is edging towards leaving McLaren.

Reports suggest that McLaren are offering Hamilton a reduced contract to his current deal which sees him earn £15million-a-season, something that the 2008 Formula One World Champion is unhappy about.

Whilst Mercedes have not only matched his current deal they have beaten it, offering him £60million over the course of three-years.

Negotiations are either continuing or stalling, depending on what newspaper you read, some suggest Hamilton's management agency XIX Entertainment are pushing him in the direction of Mercedes as the switch would be good for 'Brand Hamilton', whilst others believe that McLaren have now begun to look for a plan B, with the team making an approach for Sauber's Sergio Perez after the Mexican has seemingly been overlooked by Ferrari for the 2013 season.

But while press speculation has always suggested that Hamilton is torn, in the media the Brit has always suggested that he would be likely to stay, referring quite frequently to his long standing association with the team.

'I think we're all wise enough to understand that people write things and that what is written is not necessarily what is true, There's a lot of speculation, there's a lot of stories that aren't true.' Hamilton told the media in Mumbai after an exhibition race.

'I've been with the team since I was 13 and we've worked so hard since 2009 to try and win this championship and hopefully, finally, we're in the position where we can.

'So the most important thing is that I do not get distracted by all the rubbish that's been around.'

Meanwhile a source close to XIX Entertainment told the Daily Telegraph: 'There is absolutely no way XIX would push Lewis to make a decision which would be to the detriment of his career,

'The most important thing for Lewis right now is to win more world championships - and that is the most important thing for Simon [Fuller, Hamilton's manager] as well. He wants Lewis to be as successful as he possibly can be on the track in order for him to be as successful as he can be off it. But there is plenty of time for all that. Simon is taking a long-term view of Lewis's career. This is a decision for Lewis and Lewis alone. 100 per cent.'