Прости, Атлант, но мне как-то лень из-за тебя каждую новость переводить

Head: BMW said no to signing Hamilton
Saturday 1st March 2008
Williams co-founder Patrick Head has revealed that the team could have signed Lewis Hamilton back in 2004.
Head said that, after Hamilton and his father Anthony had fallen out with long-term backer McLaren, the pair paid a visit to Williams' factory in Grove.
But the chance to land F1's new superstar, who was then racing in the F3 Euroseries, came to naught after the team's engine partners BMW passed up the opportunity.
"They rang up and said 'can we come and see you?'," Head recalled. "And they came in and said '(McLaren boss) Ron Dennis has dropped us'.
"We were with BMW at the time and I think (Sir) Frank (Williams) rang (BMW's motorsport director) Mario Theissen and said 'look, this guy looks as if he could be pretty good and whatever and he has come to us saying can we help him'.
"And I think Mario said they weren't prepared to provide any support and we weren't in a position financially where we could finance his racing.
"So much to Frank's annoyance (now), he could have had Lewis in a Williams," said Head, a co-owner of the former Champions who now have Toyota engines.
Driving for McLaren, Hamilton came within a whisker of becoming World Champion in his rookie season last year, the 23-year-old eventually being pipped by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the season-closing Brazilian GP.
Although McLaren and Hamilton recently agreed a new deal that will keep the Englishman with the team until 2012, they fell out four years ago after disagreeing where he should race the following year.
He had wanted to move up a series, but McLaren told him to remain in Formula Three - the latter being vindicated when Hamilton captured the Euroseries title in 2005.
Head said there were no regrets about the missed opportunity and predicted that Hamilton and Raikkonen will once more duel for the title in 2008.
"I think it will be a really serious battle between Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis," he said. "My impression is that Lewis is just a real class act... he is pushing really hard."