Although Hamilton's current deal with McLaren runs out at the end of this season, and there remains a chance that the 2008 World Champion will drive for Mercedes if multiple World Champion Michael Schumacher decides to quit Formula 1 for the second time. Whitmarsh , though, insists both McLaren and Hamilton are happy to bide their time to ensure what they agree on is best for both parties.
And ahead of what looks set to be a tight battle for the 2012 World Championship over the second half of the season, the McLaren team principal convinced there will be no detrimental effect if nothing is sorted out before the Belgian Grand Prix.
Speaking to Autosport, Whitmarsh said: "I honestly don't think it is an issue. You get a few questions over a weekend about it, and it is clearly fascinating to some people, but I really don't think it is an issue. Lewis and I have spoken two or three times at length. I think we are closer than we have ever been, and I have known him since he was 11, and our conversations have been about how we are going to beat the other teams, and how we are going to try and win races. We don't talk about these issues at race tracks because I don't think it is the right environment."
"Ultimately, the contract situation is relatively straightforward. If Lewis wants to stay in the team, which he has told me he does, then he should do. And if we want to keep him, then we should do. If the answer to both those matters is yes, then I think it is eminently doable so not something that has to have as much focus as turning up at races, trying to bring the quickest car you can and doing the best job possible."
Whitmarsh thinks Hamilton is in the best form of his career, although he has had a couple of frustrations this season and lies 47 points behind Ferrari's Spanish Championsip leader Fernando Alonso.
"I think inevitably you can pick over the bones of issues in minutiae, and come to a conclusion, but if you stand back, I think anyone who has closely observed Lewis in terms of where he is in his head, where he is in his focus, and in his confidence. I think he is actually in a much stronger position now than he was last year."
"Lewis has gone through some interesting cycles, and it has been interesting for some of us who have known him for a good many years to see that. He is in a stronger place and, although it doesn't mean everything is going to go right for him, he is stronger mentally than he has ever been.
"He has had some big challenges, and last year by his extraordinarily high standards was not one of his better years. But he is a passionate driver who wants to win races, and I would be very worried if he did not exhibit those characteristics and he is stronger minded and clearly more experienced than he has ever been," Whitmarsh added.
