Jul.27 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton looks set for a round of feisty negotiations with McLaren, after supremo Ron Dennis weighed back into the saga about the 2008 world champion's new contract.

Dennis, formerly McLaren's team boss but now the company's executive chairman, sounded on Thursday as he though he is confident he has the upper hand in the talks about Hamilton's 2013 deal.

"It's a question of whether we employ him, not the other way around," he told BBC radio.

When told about the jibe, Hamilton insisted that - on the one hand - he had not even seen Dennis' comments.

And on the other hand, "It has nothing to do with me particularly," the 27-year-old Briton said. "Martin (Whitmarsh) is my boss."

To seasoned paddock observers, the spat is regarded as little more than negotiating ploys designed to affect the eventual dollar figure on Hamilton's deal.

The five-week August break will be a good chance to end the saga.

"We are relaxed at the moment," Hamilton said, also referring to his manager, Simon Fuller.

"At some stage he will sit down and speak to me over the summer."

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