Lewis Hamilton is "indispensable" - Father

Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony says that his son has established himself as "indispensable".

Three-time world champion Hamilton has come under fire for his increasingly-extravagant off-track lifestyle.

However, Hamilton Sr., who managed the Mercedes driver's career early on, thinks that Hamilton has now established himself so much that even his life away from the track would not deter racing teams from being interested in him.

"In F1 you can get drivers who are indispensable and Lewis is one of those now. If one team doesn't want him, another will," Anthony Hamilton told the Daily Mail. "He will have a career until he is 35 or 40, whenever he decides to retire."

He has however admitted that he was perhaps too heavy-handed in his apprach to managing his son's career.

The pair parted ways on a professional level in 2010, and Hamilton has developed much more of a media persona in the years since.

"In the old days, if he said he'd really like to go to America, the answer was no. I believe I did the right things for the right reasons. Lewis is a good lad," he said. "My management was all about motorsport, being focused and making the best of it. Maybe there should have been more fun in it."