“Didier has been a good friend of mine for many years and has got great
experience, not only with my team but F1 in general. I think it will be
quite strong to have him there at grands prix; there when I need him.
“I’m not going to use the phrase [bubble], but it’s definitely a step in that
direction.”
Coton, an old friend of McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, will
certainly go down well with the powers-that-be at Woking. Whitmarsh said
before Hamilton appointed XIX that he would prefer him to appoint a
specialist manager.
Asked specifically whether he wanted to bring in someone with more motorsport
experience, Hamilton defended Fuller.
“Simon knows quite a bit about Formula One,” he said. “He was here back in the
days of BAR and I think he worked with Honda [Fuller was behind the team’s
Earth Dreams concept].
“It is having someone there who I can offload lots of stuff to. Simon is still
my manager.”