Hamilton happy, but no closer to signing

Lewis Hamilton goes into the Bahrain Grand Prix leading the Formula One Drivers Championship.

The 2008 F1 champion is yet to win a race this season, but the British driver has finished all three races on the podium, in third place.

He has shown consistent pace, topping the timing sheets in a number of practice sessions and started from pole position in both Australia and Malaysia.

He has come through the races with no incidents, no visits to the race stewards and generally appears happy within himself, although not happy that he is yet to taste the champagne on the podium as a winner.

But a solid start was just what Hamilton needed after a disappointing season in 2011.

'Everything is better this year,' Hamilton told The Daily Telegraph.

'The team is better, the car is better, I am a lot better and I have got my dad here. And that is not fake. We have a really good bond now. We are on the up. Things are great and that's reflected in my performances.

'I am definitely consistent this year - consistently third. But I am happy, given the way we have quite a few points and are still in the fight.'

2012 is the last season of a five year contract between McLaren and Lewis Hamilton and the media have already speculated about Hamilton's future.

It doesn't appear to be feasible to see Hamilton moving away from McLaren to either Red Bull or Ferrari, so it looks most likely that he will sign a new deal with the team that he has been with since he was a child.

Asked about his contract situation and whether or not he is closer to being persuaded to re-sign for McLaren he said: 'It is not about being persuaded, I don't need persuading. When I need to, which can be within any time frame I want so long as it is before next year, I will decide about my future.'