Hamilton-Vettel swap talked up by Hill

Damon Hill has tantalisingly suggested that Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel could swap teams in the future. Mercedes star Hamilton is still to sign a new contract with the Silver Arrows and Hill has also floated the notion of the reigning champion walking away from F1.

Hamilton had been expected to commit his future to Mercedes before the campaign began, but he is yet to do so, and has suggested Liberty Media's proposed changes to rules in 2021 are behind the delay.

The Briton has previously talked up the lustre of racing for Ferrari, while Hill believes a swap between F1's current four-time world champions would also suit the Silver Arrows.

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"Sebastian is under contract at Ferrari but he is a German driver and Mercedes are a German team," Hill told The Sun. "There could be the old switcheroo."

With Hamilton aware that he is nearing the end of his career, Hill also did not rule out the prospect of him following in the footsteps of former team-mate Nico Rosberg and walking away.

He added: "Lewis does a very good job of appearing innocent and not understanding but I think he has a very astute mind when it comes to what his power is in the sport.

"He is powerful enough and a precious commodity in the sport and maybe just making them wait and sweat a bit. Mercedes might be sweating.

"He has to really want to race and carry on. He does have another life he wants to pursue elsewhere.

"Although he did not look like that in Barcelona last week, he looked as though he was really hooked up and enjoys what he is doing and can become champion again

"But I wonder if Nico Rosberg's retirement weighed on his mind a little bit. When you are an F?1 driver, you hanker for the days when you can escape from it.

"It is a very tough life for a driver. You start thinking, especially in the mid-30s, about having a weekend off."