Reigning F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has taken a "step further in preparing for a career in music" after F1 by signing up with "one of the industry’s biggest public relations firms," according to Daniel Johnson of the London TELEGRAPH. Hamilton, who "still remains without a manager for his affairs in the sport after ending his association with Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment, has joined the books of Mayfair-based Purple PR." Purple boast "stars including Adele, Beyonce, Calvin Harris, Dizzee Rascal and Ice Cube, a particular favourite of Hamilton." In the past he has taken rappers and musicians to races and "often posts pictures with artists on social media." Representatives from Purple have been with the 30-year-old at the Louis Vuitton menswear fashion show in Paris this week, ahead of the first preseason test on Feb. 1, when his title defense will "formally begin with the unveiling of the new Mercedes." Of a "more pressing concern" is the matter of resolving his contract situation. His current three-year deal with Mercedes, worth around £20M ($30M) a year, expires at the end of the season. Hamilton will now enter this negotiation without a "conventional manager, having ended his relationship with Fuller, the music mogul behind the Spice Girls." He will also be without his "highly-respected performance engineer, Jock Clear, this season, who is headed for Ferrari" (TELEGRAPH, 1/23).
