Lewis Hamilton has claimed that he will make a decision on his McLaren future early this year.

There has been constant speculation surrounding the 27-year-old, who is in the final term of his five-year contract with the British-based team.

"At the moment the focus is on the preparation we have coming up for the season," said Hamilton. "Probably after the first couple of races it's something we will probably want to get out of the way.

"We can then focus on the rest of the year without the team being concerned and without it being something hanging around, so then [the media] won't have to ask questions about it.

"So I'll try to get that out of the way at some stage, probably in the earlier part of the year rather than later."

Seats are likely to become available at Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, which the former world champion may consider joining.