Hamilton names McLaren targets

Lewis Hamilton is tipping one of three drivers to be his team-mate at McLaren after Fernando Alonso's departure.

When asked who would be alongside him next season, he said: "(Nico) Rosberg, (Adrian) Sutil or (Heikki) Kovalainen.

"The most important thing is that he is a team player," added the Briton, whose sensational first season in F1 led to him falling out with Spaniard Alonso.

The double world champion left McLaren on Friday after agreeing a release from the last two years of his deal.

German Rosberg, the son of Finland's 1982 world champion Keke, is under contract with Williams but is seen as the favourite to replace Alonso.

He finished ninth in the 2007 drivers' championship, while Finland's Kovaleinen took seventh, boosted by his second place in the Japanese GP.

Renault chief Flavio Briatore said on Saturday that he has offered Alonso a deal to return to the team where he won the 2005 and 2006 titles.

Sutil, another German, is a friend of Hamilton's. He drove for F1 minnows Spyker in 2007 but is highly rated.

Spyker were sold to Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya in October and will become Force India F1 next season.

Mallya said recently: "I am very happy with Adrian Sutil and I've told team boss Colin Kolles that we need to keep him."

McLaren are determined to pick the right man to partner Hamilton after he and Alonso's feuding contributed to the duo losing out in the drivers' title race to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen by one point.

Source: BBC Sport