If, as is being reported, it is confirmed that Lewis Hamilton has moved from McLaren to Mercedes, it will be a leap of great faith in the German-owned operation, but may be a decision that the British youngster will one day regret.
With the exception of Ferrari – which is in any case a very different case – most manufacturer teams do not do well in F1 and the team that Hamilton joins failed to win consistently during its time as the Honda team. As an independent team it came up with a clever gizmo that helped Jenson Button win the title in 2009 but since then it has been pretty average.
The one exception to that is probably Renault in the 2005-2006 period, although that was in many ways a manufacturer team in name only and its demise was caused by team members so desperate not to lose the Renault link that they resorted to cheating to achieve their goal – which was, of course, a complete disaster.
There are plenty of other examples of factory teams that failed to deliver, because the demands are simply different and the F1 environment seems to work best for manufacturers when they are engine suppliers only. If Mercedes decide to blitz F1 with money, as they did in the 1950s then perhaps they will be impossible to beat, but can the firm afford such excess?
Lewis Hamilton does not know much about racing history and so cannot learn from the mistakes of others. Perhaps he thinks that if it fails he will at least have the consolation of earning loads more money and being a bigger star, thanks to his hustling management that will sell his image here, there and everywhere. That might make him an international celebrity on a bigger scale than he is, but it will not make him a racing legend.
Perhaps Mercedes will pull it off and then Hamilton will look clever, but I fear that this will be a move similar to James Hunt joining Wolf; Emerson Fittipaldi joining Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve moving to BAR or Niki Lauda’s ill-fated move to Brabham. History relates that you do not leave a winning team in F1 unless it is to go to another proven winner…
joeblogsf1 
Today is the day in the history books that cements Sergio Perez as one of the greats IMHO…
…But he hasn’t won anything!
No it doesn’t. I must disagree with you. It proves that people at a top team believe he has the ability to race for them, that they think he has the potential to be a great.
History is, of course, bunk…….
Except when it is right
“History is, of course, bunk…….”
Except it’s not, of course. If you want to learn of the future, look to the past and see what happened the last few times.
That’s what I call standing still. Make a break for it, innovate, try something new. That’s how you move forward.
Alonso moved from McLaren … to a not so-winning Renault and finally ended up at Ferrari HISTORY
He did not leave McLaren by choice. Fact.
It wasn’t a bad move after having to leave McLaren, there wasn’t really anywhere else to go and the Renault team were still good enough to let him show how good he still was, it always seemed from the start like a stop gap anyway.
As for Lewis, oh dear, he appears to want to be a megastar with his own aftershave brand than a true multi title great of the sport (for which he has the skill to be)
Is this a fact that can be substantiated or one of those that can’t.
neither-its his opinion. Hence the guys’ use of the words ‘he appears’…
JamesR was asking Joe, not F1Pete, if you follow the way the comments are nested.
Not really. I don’t have time.
I’m distraught. I’ve no faith in Mercedes being able to supply him a consistently competitive car. Talent wasted?
Fear not, Ross Brawn has won half the WCCs awarded this millenium. McLaren have won none.
The new regs in 2014 will sort things out. Expect Lewis to have a bedding-in year in 2013, at worst.
Yes, but race wins produce another story, don’t they?
I guess the big question is; just how good is Lewis Hamilton? I mean, he won his WDC on the final corner of the season (thanks to Timo Glock) in whst was touted as the car of the year. If not for Glock, Massa could be the man in demand right now.
Still, he drives well and will bear responsibility for this decision. 2014 will tell.
Massa in demand now!!?? Alonso is in the brink to achieve his 3rd WDC. Where is massa, who drives the same pony car?. How many race wins have Massa since 2010? How many wins had Hamilton?
Fernando is down on wins this year, but looks set for and deserves his 3rd WDC
Except that there are now reports (albeit from unreliable sources), that the 2014 engine rules might be scrapped again after all.
Certainly suggests that however much of a true racer Hamilton is, the wallet and ego are at the wheel right now. I’ve already fast-forwarded to next March, and all the ‘Lewes was right’ or ‘Lewes was wrong’ stories, depending on Mercedes’ testing performance.
at least spell Lewis correctly
At least take note of my spelling correction, 3 hours before your kind guidance…
I think that Lewis has had a long time with McLaren and after some of the screw-ups and issues has decided to try something else.
Perfect he isn’t, and his problems/failings are all out in the open, warts and all, but he is a racer and I wish him well.
Whether or not Mercedes get to use his talent remains to be seen, but Ross Brawn is probably the most skilled team manager out there, so if anyone can do it, he’s the man.
…oops, how hard is it to spell Lewis!
I certainly don’t see the Hamilton/Mercedes combination being more competitive against either Alonso/Ferrari or Vettel/Red Bull. At least Jenson Button will be happy now that McLaren will focus on him.
The fact remains that he has not won the WDC since 2008, for a variety of reasons,….the move could be just what both partys need.But enough of the speculating!!
BBC are reporting that Perez has been signed as a replacement for Lewis:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19755236
Some news outlets are saying Joe that Hamilton will be de facto number one driver. How will this sit with Rosberg? He must be a worried man if Lewis gets more performance out of the car than he ever could?
At least we’ll finally be able to gauge how good Rosberg actually is
Think we probably know already? A good number two methinks.
He will have a lower number on the car, maybe even a one if McLaren can get their whole act together, because of his superior WDC tally to Nico.
If these were the same people that were trying to push the story that Jenson had stopped following Lewis on Twitter after today’s news was announced, I wouldn’t give them much thought. It’s days like this that show us who the good journalists are – and a lot of the bad ones showed up on Twitter this morning. It’s no wonder fiction turns into “fact” so easily in F1 when well-established names blindly copy each other without checking facts.
What about Schumacher to Ferrari in 96? That was surely a case of moving from winners to a legendary team that had underachieved for a decade or more (save for Prost’s brief spell in ’90). I don’t remember being totally confident in ’96 that Ferrari would turn it around so spectacularly.
Schumacher was the key to the Ferrari turnaround; he was a team leader and did the hard work to make the cars work, pulling the team with him. I recall that he did thousands and thousand of miles of testing himself, not passing it off to a test driver. I don’t think Lewis has the drive or the emotional maturity to be a real team leader and pull a team ahead with his personality. He’s a good driver but doesn’t seem to be really committed to being a great driver.
It is the decision of a spiteful child. He’s been hanging around too many rappers and movie stars in the US and they have convinced him that it is he who makes the team great rather than the other way round. He will find Mercedes as frustrating as Rosberg and Schumacher have and may never see the top step of the podium again.
I’m not sure that Perez is the long term solution for McLaren but he has shown brilliance at Sauber this year.
I’ve long said that Lewis has a tendency to behave like a petulant teenager, the Ali G joke, the ‘frikkin drivers’ comment, ‘don’t touch me man’ and the telemetry tweetgate (sorry!) seem like a man who was never really a child and has now decided he can behave as he pleases. I’ve also read that his attitude has changed around McLaren from the polite young man at the start to a megastar with an ego to go with it. Maybe Mercedes are more willing to massage that ego and maybe Lewis feels he has burned too many bridges?
Time will of course tell and betting against Ross Brawn in the long run might not be a wise move.
Sorry but thats opinion based on tabloid heresay. If he’s signed for them he must think they can win wdc’s. But based on what I’ve seen in last few years at Mercedes I’m certainly not convinced.
Such a shame to see such little respect shown for talented sportsmen. None of us have a full picture of what goes on behind the scenes, or what prompts people to change jobs (in any walk of life).To say he’s a “spiteful child” is more of a reflection on you than on Hamilton.
Interesting and correct view.
If reports are true, I can only hope that Hamilton’s decision has been helped on some level by some kind of future knowledge of the Mercedes power train. With McLaren cutting its Mercedes ties in two years it could be another very dry spell for the team, (94-97).
Although McLaren will always be there or there abouts, the truth is they have produced as many lemons over the past two decades as they have title challenging front runners.
Brawn may have been operating as an “independent” team in 2009 but the car was built and designed to be a Honda and came out of the box as the dominant package. Of course it was Brawn who navigated that other “manufacturer” team to the top of the sport in the early years of this century. As a Hamilton fan I hope this is history repeating itself in a good way, rather than the bad ones you rightfully pointed out in your article.
I think you should not look at team names but at the people they employ. Recent history (since 1992) suggests that in order to win championships you need either Ross Brawn (Ferrari, Brawn) or Adrian Newey (Williams, McLaren, Red Bull) in your team. There are some exceptions (Renault) and of course McLaren won races without Newey as well.
If you look at it from that perspective a move to Mercedes might be the best option for him as Red Bull is not available.
Mclaren won races and championships without Newey. Rory Byrne was the chief designer at Benetton and Ferrari, not Brawn, so was it Brawn or Byrne that was the relevant factor? (Answer: both, in combination with Schumacher and Todt). Just saying that it’s not that simple.
Good points, the only thing you missed is the most dominant team of the 2000’s was a factory team under the stewardship of a certain Ross Brawn.
He did actually say with the exception of ferrari 🙂
But see, you could also argue Ferrari won championships with Schumacher, and his presence at Mercedes did relatively nothing! So what does Rossy B really have to offer? Time will tell. But If the dream team of Brawn and Schumi could not get it back together, I seriously doubt things will suddenly change with Hamilton. Then again, Mercedes have made it pretty clear that Michaels role there the last three years was to help build foundations. It will be interesting to watch this play out.
Been a downward spiral for some time for Hamilton, while I’d agree with the premise of regret it’s really good news for McLaren who ought to have offloaded Hamilton a couple of years ago.
In fact with hindsight Dennis must wish he hadn’t let pride get in the way in 2007. Anyway I gather Perez is the replacement so every cloud has a silver lining.
I pretty much agree. McLaren gained a lot of advertisement, exposure and headlines with Hamilton, they underachieved in racing by just gambling on him. IMO McLaren could have won ’07, 08, and ’10 WC having supported Alonso on his leading role. I think McLaren are better off Hamilton; they will have more money for R&D, a hopefully a more consistent driver in 2013. Not sure if its a winning move by Hamilton but its a huge win for McLaren
Wow, negative much Joe!
I usually agree with most of what you write but I think you are too quickly dismissing the combined talents of Bob Bell, Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis under the overall direction of Ross Brawn. As Adam Cooper just wrote on Twitter, it’s not as if he is joining HRT.
And perhaps he needed to make a change and so ditch the “British youngster” label you rather carelessly adorned him with.
As always time will tell.
Yes and he in not Jaques Villeneuve and he is not moving to BAR
You have shown a rather pro-McLaren, anti-Lewis stance since your recent lunch with Paddy Lowe.
My view is that McLaren have allowed too much technical tallent to leave the team without replacement and Sam Michael was avery bad choice for Sporting Director.
What a lot of rubbish. I had a cup of tea with Paddy and that had no effect on my thinking at all. In fact it is insulting that you think that my opinion will be swayed in such a way. I have been in F1 for 25 years so I have a vague idea how things operate and what is a good idea and what is not a good idea. Logic and reality do not always combine in F1, but give me a little more respect than that.
Well, you certainly debunked this one coming. Madness you thought. Madness it is! Change is good for the sport though, I am already looking forward to seeing Lewis in Silver and Sergio at McLaren. Bring on the change!!
It is worthwhile to note that the rumors of this move have been circulating for awhile… and since the first rumor surfaced, Joe has been critical of the move. I am also pretty certain that Joe is actually partial to Lewis and it is BECAUSE of this that he is quick to be critical of his moody attitude and new team. Almost as if he were a father caustiously warning a son of the daft decision he is making.
Regardless of all this, to say that a cup of tea changed things is ridiculous.
I’m really disappointed he has chosen “bling” and his “movie star” lifestyle over solid racing heritage. Oh well. Lets hope the McLaren seat goes to someone who is hungry and determined!
Will Lewis bring key McLaren personnel with him to Mercedes?
1. Matrix management in Woking.
2. Brackley is already overstuffed with key people.
Lewis will have to hope the FIA doesn’t delay the new engines.
To be honest, I’m more excited by the news Perez is moving to McLaren. He deserves a top team and it looks like McLaren still have a very strong driver pairing. Indeed it may well work out well for them as I get the impression Perez has a similar style to Button so they can tailor the car to them rather than having to try and make one that suits contrasting styles.
So far, Mercedes has been a bit of a non-entity. They may sort themselves out but even if they don’t then this has opened things up and given a chance to an up and coming youngster who would otherwise have had to wait longer to break in to a top team.
It would be poetic justice if Schumi moved to Sauber and that could be good for Kamui to have his experience to draw on. However, I think I’d like to see Di Resta to Ferrari and Massa to Sauber. I bet Ferrari are kicking themselves to let Perez slip through their fingers…
Perez would put too much pressure Alonso, the prima donna. When Alonso is put under too much pressure, his robotic brain experiences a system fault and things don’t go well. Ferrari need a number two that can pick up the scraps that Alonso leaves behind; someone a little better than Massa… but with less potential than Perez. Paul DiResta indeed!
Schumi to Sauber would be pretty awesome.
Ferrari doesn’t need to trouble Alonso, they need to deliver a winning car at winter testing and Fernando will deliver the goods at the end of the season. What else a team needs from a racer? Alonso has been systematically portraited as the bad guy since 2007 and yet he’s the guy who shows his talent even with a mid-pack car. I hope someday we could read HIS personal account about his short tenure at Macca, learn about the other side of the story.
Whilst I agree that Hamilton leaving McLaren for Mercedes is a dubious choice for racing victories it may well be a good choice for Hamilton as a man.
He was in the McLaren family from childhood. Now he has grown up, grateful for their support, but now it is time for him to move on into his own adult life. Just as we all have to move on from our families if we are to grow as adults.
We would do well to remember that he is a man as well as a driver and he needs to succeed in his personal life as well as on the track. In McLaren he will always feel the youngster he was when he became part of the McLaren family.
Comparing Hunt and Wolf to Hamilton and Mercedes is a big call, on both counts, as are your other examples, Fittipaldi & Fittipaldi really?
Im so dissapointed, I have been a Lewis fan from day one and this just screams ‘it’s all about the money’ to me, I think his managment team have been whispering things in his ear and he has listened too much, this is such a dissapointment from such an incredibly talented driver.
Even Toyota could not succed with just spending big money even when spending reduction was not in the window of F1. We are not in the 50’s anymore.
I feel slightly sick if this is true. How stupid is he going to look next year when Perez wins the WDC. Maybe Ron will have to give him Lewis’s F1 road car instead?
I agree with all of the above, however I think there is also his current McLaren team mate Button who’s settled in well after his move from Banbury.
On track he beat Hamilton last year but off track in terms of media profile and public perception Button has not put a foot wrong. For Hamilton personally I think having another driver within the same team who is eloquent and who’s view are sought by commentators and pundits has unsettled him. I accept that my view on the world of F1 is predominantly through the BBC window.
Nico is a top driver however money and the prospect of being the only world champion in a team is possibly the draw of Mercedes.
Why is Nico a top driver? He has won one race.
Whilst I agree he hasn’t proved himself to be great yet, playing devils advocate, would Lewis have won more than a race had he been in the cars Nick has been?? Personally I doubt it!!
Two thoughts on that:
One, a race win is more than half of the current field have.
Two, if that’s the case, I guess that makes Maldonaldo a top driver too
Maldonaldo is a good driver, he has destroyed Senna and did a pretty good job against Rubens in his rookie year in a terrible car. He is very fast, yes he crashes but that can be ironed out, whereas gaiing half a second in speed isn’t realistic.
Rosberg is a great driver, did an amazing job at Williams. people knock Schui now saying he is too old, but I wonder how much of it is acuatlly Rosberg being very good rather than Schui being bad, no one expected him to get close to Schui.
Back to Phil’s point I think he is spot on, Button is very likable and gets on with the team, when he joined it was Lewis’ team so it can’t be comfortable having someone else come in and do such a good job and steer the team
Maldonado has in no way “destroyed” Senna. He has four more points than him and the vast majority of those points came from his sole win. Senna has found himself in the points more often than Maldonado has. But I will admit that I am not in any way a Maldonado fan, so there is a huge amount of bias to my opinion.
Interesting theory on Rosberg… although I will say that if reliability had not plagued Schumacher this year, he would likely be right there with Nico in points. Some of his retirements came when he was in very good position. And many of Nico’s points come from a 1st and 2nd place finish.
Well at least we’ll finally get a definitive answer on Nico’s relative status as a driver next year…
plus 1
Exactly, that’s one of the most exciting parts of this move for me. Although, if Nico can’t keep up Lewis, all Nico fans are going to blame it on Lewis having an “undisputed no.1 driver” clause in his contract… Still, good luck Nico, will be exciting to watch.
that will be one of the more interesting aspects of the moves…
Totally agree has left in petulant mood after not having everything go his way. Hope Jenson repeats last year at Suzuka
Nico (Britney) Rosberg a top driver? He has won a single race.
[Must make Mark Webber a ‘F1 Legend’ at the sum of nine race wins then.]
What comparative superlative do you use for the 10 or so F1 pilots in history with 20 or more wins under their belts? Five or so, on the current grid. JF
But is Ross Brawn (now accompanied by Costa, Elliot and someone else I forget) the person (/people) the one(s) to change that?
Surely Brawn + resources is a good bet?
Also I think the sponsor side may be underestimated – Lewis working for Hugo Boss, Tag H, J Walker, Mobil 1, Vodafone all year and for little or no extra vs. another 10 mil + for his own work and own say.
Well Lewis has effectively joined BAR…a team steeped in racing history, or not.
If you’re going to look at it that way, he’s effectively joined Tyrrell.
Joe, my personal opinion, Lewis has an over inflated opinion of himself. To me he gives the impression of a spoilt kid. A driver is never more than his team.
Perhaps I am too harsh on Lewis and maybe he has a performance clause in his contract but this may be the start of his fall from stardom, similar to Jacques Villeneuve. I’ve always thought there were some similarities. Both came into F1 and rattled their more established team mates, won their world championship in their 2nd season and steadily disappeared… I hope I am wrong with Lewis….
What? A racing driver has an over inflated opinion of himself?! Hold the front page!
Is it such a bad choice though?
In Hamilton’s time in the sport both Mclaren and the Brawn led team have won a title each. Going forward Merc have manufacturer backing, foreknowledge of the new engine and money, while Mclaren are out in the cold as a customer.
In any case, if he isn’t happy there, and it seems he hasn’t been, then leaving is the best choice.
For Mclaren, it’s a blow, but Perez is a real talent and he brings sponsors, which will help the teams budget no end.
Scottt…. is correct.Good luck both to Lewis and Perez
Customer status is plenty, this is modern engineering business, they’ll be as well informed about engine development as the works team. Its all going to be very solid supplier-customer relationships, even within different arms of the same company, particularly with engine development so restricted these days.
What about Schumi to Ferrari? That one worked pretty well, and was against most people’s better judgement.
Nobody knows how this will work out. It’s a big rule change, and he’ll be number one, with a clever boss and a lot of money behind him.
In my opinion, it’s probably a bad move for him, as McLaren will always be strong. That said, times change, look at Mercedes’ history, and conversely look at Red Bull now.
Can’t say I particularly wish him well though, as I don’t feel that he’s made this decision for the right reasons.
That would be interesting! I was hoping to see Rosberg go to McLaren so it would be Hamilton vs Schumacher
Mercedes arguably need Hamilton’s young, aggressive image far more than he needs their millions.
I can see this working well for both parties.
What do you think of the reported move of Perez to McClaren? Can driver and team make it work?
I remember quite a few experts said that Button would regret moving to McLaren.
Hamilton, apart from the points you make, could also have been persuaded to think that 2014’s engine change might favour a manufacturer and help tilt the balance, maybe not as much as the millions though.
[quote]History relates that you do not leave a winning team in F1 unless it is to go to another proven winner…[/quote]
Except Schumacher who left a proven winner Renault to join a proven loser Ferrari, and helped turn them into a winner!
He took half of the team with him and it cost Ferrari a fortune and several years. In addition Ferrari was a winning team for many years. The Brackley team is not.
But that’s okay, they were running from a certain other Italian guy 🙂
Tom Walkinshaw was Italian? 😉
This is a clever move.Since Hakkinen McLaren won only one WDC,the same as his new team.But Mercedes is on way up and McLaren is on its way down.
Maybe 2013 will be a struggle but from 2014 on Mercedes will be the team to beat.Lewis may not know som much about racing history but why should he?
Tosh
If you want a champion who knows his history, there’s no better than Dario Franchitti. A masterclass in talent & appreciation of racing’s roots.
Hamilton isn’t interested in it, and if Merc use it to promote, they may find that they’ve excluded it from his contract……it’s clearly all about “self” with him, and his management team are a mirror of that. Remember the Earth Car of ’07? Wasn’t that also a Simon Fuller idea???
In terms of Merc being the team to beat in 2014? Utter madness. Can’t see it, if anything they’re going to have to trim back again after lack of wins, waning Board support, expensive (and high maintenance) new driver, complex management structure and highly paid Technical & Engineering Chiefs (and the political infighting that can cause), and development dead ends like Double DRS. Oh, plus the new engine development costs.
Macca, Ferrari and RedBull will remain at the summit, with Merc & Lotus/Renault at their heels.
Am interested to see how mooted Monster/Coca Cola deal you mentioned recently Joe has an impact though.
How likely is it that things remain the same as it is now?Before the rule shake up in 2009 there was Ferrari/McLaren,Renault and before that Williams and Benneton the others need to beat.
In 2009 it was Brawn and Red Bull and after that Red Bull have been the team to beat.Offcourse can Mercedes still struggle and Ferrari,McLaren and Red Bull keep up status quo but history has shown that it’s not repeat itself.Mercedes could be the team to beat in 2014 in my option and so it seems Lewis Hamilton also see it!!
(hi hi…)
Clearly you have not been paying attention to this season, or any of the others. McLaren have been improving their pace. Mercedes has not. McLaren have a trend of consistently winning. Mercedes have a trend of consistently not winning.
If you want to make bold predictions, fine… but don’t make up your own history to support it.
If someone watching F1 in the last few years thinks McLaren is on its way down…that’s nuts! McLaren has been consistently effective in solving tech problem as the season moves on, getting the car be faster, better. Current Macca car is the best onthe grid right now….not so much early in the season. If there’s a top team struggling to get things right before and during the last seaons is Ferrari, and yet they’re always there, close to the front. Nuts to think Ferrari, McLaren and RBR won’t be challenging for WC in the next two years. Maybe Mercedes will too but its yet to be seen
Joe – what do you think of Mercedes’ recently accumulated engineering talent?
That they are worried, and bet on certain rules heavily, hence Ross piping up a few weeks ago, and now they have to all change? Not often Ross moans in public ..
HI Joe,
What stock do you place on the team being built up at Mercedes? In your opinion do you not think that Brawn and co could make the difference? Have prior examples of manufacturer teams had that pedigree of staff?
McLaren have confirmed Hamilton is to leave at the end of the season.
Right on the money as ever, Joe. I rather think XIX has pushed him into this – it just don’t seem to have no rationale….
For a guy who always expresses his desire to be a multiple world champion it is one hell of a gamble. It sounds like his management team have told him they will make him as big as Beckham but that wont bring him world titles.
Unless Merc find the missing link in time for next year we are gonna see a frustrated Hamilton fighting for 5th and 6th waiting for 2014.
Even if Merc have an advantage then I reckon that advantage would last 1 season max and McLaren always learn quickly through the season.
Im a fan so I really hope he proves that the car is better than it is with him in it. I am confident he can find 0.5 seconds more than whats in it now, but that isnt enough when you look at the car how it is now.
I just hope Di Resta gets the McLaren seat now, but suspect Vodafone, Telmex and Perez are all going to factor in that one.
That’s probably the intention – Schumacher went from Benetton to Ferrari in anticipation of ‘what was to come’.
How many people have left McLaren voluntarily?
Senna, to join the all-conquering WIlliams team
Lauda, retiring (again)
Prost, to join Renault, is probably the nearest precedent.
I’d add three Finns to the list: both Rosberg and Häkkinen retired and Kimi went to Ferrari (IIRC neither Alonso nor Hamilton was confirmed when this deal was done).
Prost to Ferrari in 1990 is probably the closest scenario. Leaving a winning team to join a team that hadn’t won in over a decade. Of course, Prost then had a good season, narrowly missing out on the title but I fear the same won’t be true with Lewis and Mercedes.
But again, it wasn’t a free choice. The relationship with Senna, Honda, and (I think) with Ron Dennis, had soured to the extent that it was probably a relief to go to Ferrari.
Perez confirmed at Mclaren accordng to Autosport,
Ah, well. I guess with Lewis, one doesn’t always make the decsion in ones objectively best interest when ego passion and emotion are involved. Thus the success of the Penelopes (partly).
I fear that the issue of possession of the trophies is now a non-issue, as Lewis is now much less likely to be winning any to fight over. 😦
I have seen no confirmation of anything as yet. There is a fair old media storm building up but that does not mean it is confirmed.
The McLaren F1 website has just crashed! No doubt swamped but I briefly saw the loved up quotes from Messrs Perez and Whitmarsh – looks like it is a done deal.
Like pretty much everyone, I think Lewis has taken a different path here. He is a good looking boy whose face will be over all sorts of advertising and known everywhere around the world but won’t be driving for a World Championship anytime soon. Lewis in his undies on airport posters or Lewis lifting trophies on the podium? I know which I would rather see. I actually feel a little bit sad.
Martin Whitmarsh statement was posted. Guess he’s confirmed it.
It’s on formula1.com . . .
True, but Autosport are running quotes from Perez about “how happy is is to become a Vodone McLaren Mercedes driver.” So in terms of intel, I’d have to say that the source sounds solid.
I wish it weren’t true, but (if I were,say, the Mole) I would have proceed on the basis that is is. Unless someone comes up with solid contrary information to refute it, no?
Try doing this when you are at the Indian embassy sorting out visas…
You should give that to James Allen as a new colorful metaphor for a driver handling too much in the car ‘it’s like he’s handling a visa at the Indian embassy’ 😉
I’ve nothing against JA because he is at very least a enthusiast, and besides he never upset me. But Aura suddenly has me thinking his punishment for certain race start commentaries ought to be secondment to the visa bureau in Delhi . .
We come here for the sanity, the insight, the wit and the experience. No one expects omniscience.
I don”t think it’s a smart move, but I did suspect there was more than a “7 year itch” going on. If that’s fabricated by Lewis’ management, shame on them. On the flip, Mercedes have hinted they bet hard on the new regs. Those change the block so much, maybe only a engine manufacturer can do enough simulation to assuage the testing ban. Last I read, Ross was acting a bit upset when rules were not clarified, suggesting to me they had a lot invested.
Another factor is that the attraction of limelight may have affected Lewis. I don’t mean attracted, but plain affected him in adverse ways. It could have been disorienting, or distracting. Or told him by experience he didn;t want it at all. Maybe he is thinking “change it all” including his rather not -the -right- crowd management?
I’ll remain a fan, converted by his sense of humor when it all got a bit ‘orrible the other year. You have to think also, that if he is leaving his very close team, Ross and his lot are a bunch of deep thinkers where Lewis might explore his talents readily. It might be just a style change. But as for winning podiums, boy that’s a gamble. Then again, who thought of the tire curve ball this year?
Ughh, sorry to reply to myself, but it’s also potentially Lewis’ only move. Like marrying your childhood sweetheart. You are tempted to at least wonder what else is out there . . . tricky times for the young man. But, hmm, I’ve seen a lot of blossoming relationships go bust because because one or both thought they had higher expectations .
I have to admit, the last time I saw Lewis at close quarters was in MTC about a year before his F1 debut . He looked very young.
But then again, I probably looked in a (habitual) very bad mood. 😉
LOL, then you can recognise me at any race: I am usually in good mood, because the world which annoys is silly from a distance, and I have serious talent when it comes to avoiding the real world, but travelling makes me a mean expression!
I guess I am old enough to look back at my own silly self, and I can think of a break I once made, and see Lewis doing that. Yeah, I was once bright and shiny also .. I am not certain about this, but I think in your 20’s change is not good, you become more able to adapt later. Or more the ruddy cynic, something like that. That could be a tortology, though: when young you may seek changes, you are not perfect with your calls, so by the time you are middle aged, you have experienced lots to say you were stupid. But whenever I ask someone if they really wished they had split with their girl, at that age, there is always regret. How much, depends on how well set they were in life. How well set you are in life is I don’t think so operative when things are fine. Perception of bad things magnifies when you are sweet. And then, you often don’t realise you proverbially had it so good.
To clarify, the habitual bad mood was as a result of being in the MTC.
For me it’s a career thing, I have an entire industry (F1) that inspired my all-consuming passion and with which I can no longer live. I guess it’s a bit like having a particularly gorgeous, famous but insane ex-wife.
I’m still tempted, but the sane part of me realised that the temptation leads down the road to bitter unhappiness. I’m perhaps a little jealous of Joe, who can have a (I assume) happy relationship with F1, but I have to realise that it’s not for me.
(Stop now. Too much revealed…) 🙂
Sergio to McLaren eh. I like it!
Good bye ‘Lewis the F1 driver’; hello ‘Lewis the superstar’. Shame.
Perez confirmed at McLaren as his replacement, which must surely end his association with Ferrari. Why would Ferrari let a talent like that slip through their fingers . . . unless they’ve got someone better lined up (you know where I’m going with this!)
By whom?
By McLaren?
Sauber on Twitter, and formula1.com
and now McLaren on Twitter
The official F1 website.
“King for a day, fool for a lifetime”
Hamilton might not know about racing history but I doubt how much he or his management knows about German culture, let alone understand it.
I would not be surprised if has a hard time to adept, he also might have a hard time to beat his German number 2.
I reckon you’re wrong on this one and this may well be the right move come 2014 – but only for so long as Ross Brawn is 100% behind MB
Crazy imho, but sometimes the frustrations force a change. I fear a talent has been lost. He’s great when focused, but Mercedes is lost in terms of development. Just feels like another Toyota atm.
It’s easy to be cynical about his motives and the likelihood of success, but on the other hand it shows he’s not afraid to take on new challenges. I don’t get as much sense of Hamilton being an independently-minded character in the way Hunt, Fittipaldi, Lauda and Jacques Villeneuve were and are, but they made their ostensibly odd career moves for their own reasons which in the main were admirable. Arguably Hunt was motivated primarily by money and his ego in going to Wolf, but Emmo obviously had a personal desire to work with his brother in a project intrinsicly linked to his home country; Lauda couldn’t compromise his principles after Ferrari apparently tried to shaft in in 1977; and Villeneuve set out on a project in which he was personally involved and in its own way was rather exciting. None of those moves resulted in much competitive success (aside from the fact that Lauda bounced back, and Emmo in Indycars) but to me their desire to do things differently, or to at least not do ‘the sensible thing’ adds to their legend, not detracts from it.
I’m not a huge fan of Hamilton’s personality and think he needs to grow up a bit, but good on him for taking the path less trodden or whatever that saying is.
Agreed. Shaking the the foundations. Certainly adds some excitement to F1 rather following a predictable party line. Bring it on! But first let’s decide the 2012 WDC.
Seems reports suggest Hamilton has been given in contract number one status over rosberg – that actually gives me a clue as to Lewis sticking point. I’d hazard a guess it’s less about money (though obv his management won’t have cared about much else) but perhaps mclaren refusing to grant him automatic precedence over button hasn’t helped.
Lewis clearly sees his ‘rivals’ as Alonso and Vettel and sees they have dedicated number one status.
And Schumacher to Sauber? That could be disastrous or at least good value. We’ll find out how much Michael wants to keep a drive for a lot less money.
A couple of thoughts:
– If, as has been reported elsewhere, Sergio Perez is going to McLaren, I think this is a great move for all concerned. IMHO Perez is a future World Champion and ever since the Lewis-Mercedes story broke I’ve been of the opinion that he is the only current F1 driver worthy of that seat. His incredibly neat and precise driving style is not dissimilar to Jenson’s, which will surely make car development easier? Add to this that the future marketing potential in Mexico must be huge, + Carlos Slim’s money, etc.
– Regarding Lewis to Mercedes; yes, it’s hugely risky but as you say, risks can pay if your judgement is right. What about Schumi to Ferrari? Yes, they were/are Ferrari and yes, he took Brawn & co. with him, but they had been in the relative wilderness for 15+ years when he joined them, from a winning team, for a huge amount of money.
…. always annoying when others get there first with almost the same comment. I’m not pretending to know the future but I’m excited to see how this pans out.
Can’t help but feel he agreed this or signed a few weeks ago and has since had second thoughts, hence the downbeat attitude at the last few races. I may be wrong of course but his attitude over the last few weekends was so unlike him. I am aware he had a close family member lose a fight against illness in that period as well.
Rosberg as a number 2 driver, can’t see that going down well, but I suppose we will see how good Rosberg really is now!! Perez and Button will be interesting at McLaren as well, here’s hoping these moves are successful for all, although personally I suspect Perez will come out of all this as the winner!!
Hamilton won’t become a bad driver all of a sudden and if it doesn’t work out he will move on. To compare him to someone like JV is not a fair comparison of talent. I think that whilst mclaren is clearly going to give him a good car they have proven that they are not good at winning championships. Challenging yourself elsewhere is a good career choice and I am sceptical of the criticism towards Simon fuller. They should look at the success Andy Murray is now having.
“I’m delighted to welcome Sergio on board,” said Whitmarsh.
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/9/13849.html
A good day to bury bad f1 news (Bernie in Bavaria)?
For me the most annoying thing about this is Eddie Jordan was right, but hats of to him.
I like the idea of Perez to McLaren, I’m guessing that Ferrari have given up rights to him? Or could they poach him from McLaren?
I’d take it as a pretty sure sign that someone else is going there in 2014, possibly a popular German.
Everyone is assuming the Perez announcement means that Lewis is off to Mercedes.
Massa is gone from Ferrari. This I am 100% sure. Hamilton is a winner. He wants to win races and championships. My money is on him going to Maranello.
I’ll bet you your left testicle you are wrong!
Your sources are the best!
Wow! 100% sure is a very foolish claim.
My earlier comment was supposed to be threaded below Joe’s about MSC’s Benetton to Ferrari move. Mea.
But crikey, thought to do a news search, and didn’t realise how serious the press pack are taking this. Do we play it down, somehow? I guess if you really are in the midst of F1, you might only ever see the move as silly, and broadly take the idea more carefully. But some supposedly normal “broadsheet” press are taking this as a gift to their ad impressions, and pumping it up. That’s likely not sustainable income. Well, if it is formally confirmed, I can trot out a few well fermented thoughts I had whilst ignoring it as not a cool option. I do see the imaginary drama of it, if you write to a more naive crowd, however.
Mainstream sports journo
“Hamilton is sensational move!”
Experienced F1 watcher:
“Meh”
Well Joe, you were quite wrong on this. James Allen and some others had it almost completely right.
Those that questioned your earlier analysis got short shrift for mentioning Allen’s take. It’s no big deal that you got it wrong. We all do the same – all the time. But is it too much to ask for a less-severe reaction when your future analysis is questioned?
Just because he signs for Mercedes does not make it the right decision. Only time will tell that. Anyway if you prefer James read James. I will not weep to lose you.
Superb work Random. You have two (slightly) different opinions, and decide to criticise the opinion that suggests that the “logical” move would be to remain at Mclaren. I’m sure if he had stayed you would have criticised James Allen?
This is all about informed opinion, I understand more because I read this, you, clearly, do not.
You miss my point, I never said “I” was right. I’m wrong all the time, we all are. In this case, I had no idea what was happening inside Lewis’s head. I could guess, and I did, but I’m not here saying I was right, I really wasn’t.
My point was that Joe criticized those that felt James Allen’s – incredibly accurate – prognostication better described the state of affairs. In response, I believe Joe’s quote was something to the effect of, “read him if you like, I tell you what’s really happening”.
Well, in this case, clearly not. As I said, nothing wrong with being wrong, we all are, I only wish our host could sometimes be a bit more open to critique.
I did not criticise I said go there if that is what you want.
I wasn’t referring to the rightness of Hamilton’s decision, but of the analysis.
You criticized those who pointed to James Allen’s quite accurate analysis, yet in the end, you got it wrong. As I said above, getting this stuff right all the time is impossible.
That’s my point. No one gets this stuff right all the time. Can’t be done. Most of time, those poking holes in your analysis aren’t attacking you, they’re trying to find the truth. Scrutiny and discussion also tends to make for a more robust overall analysis.
I got nothing wrong. It was an opinion expressed.
Oh please.
Probably.
Seems like a lot of people (self included) are more excited by the idea of Perez in at McLaren than about Hamilton out. Perhaps some of us are already tired of the superstar Hamilton hype?
Agreed
Perez is a great choice, but I was hoping for di Resta…
I’m hoping that McLaren will have freed up some valuable development funding from Lewis’s pay packet.
I’m not a fan of Hamilton but he is super quick, he will make MB competitive and deserves #1 status, Britney should consider himself lucky to have a drive at all.
I actually choked on my coffee.
Way to go Simon Fuller…
If those rumours and photos of Nicole and Chris Brown are true, then I think Lewis should be the last driver any team should be thinking of signing. He’s bound to go into one of his moody and dangerous driving phases again.
Hamilton -> Mercedes = underwhelming – but I look forward to more data revelations from Ham-i-Leaks.com
Perez -> McLaren = far more interesting.
I can’t believe they booted out Schumacher.. yes BOOTED OUT. Maybe if they’d given him a better car he’d done better. And all too familiar story in f1 of the driver taking the wrap for the car. I personally feel anyone ought to retire it’s Ross Brawn.
As for Hamilton, I’m normally wrong, but I have a bad feeling about him joining Merc. That teams history does not make good reading.
Why has Schumacher been BOOTED OUT?
I’ve read this so often now also from some media, but fact is that his contract expires anyways end of this season. Not renewing a contract is not booting out, getting the – well – BOOT while you do have a valid contract is different.
And unless Schumacher quits racing before this season is over, it’s a matter of an employment coming to a natural end.
I think it is a gutsy and brave move and should be applauded. McLaren haven’t been able to give Lewis the complete and definitive competitive edge that others have enjoyed – ever. He could stick with that or take a chance… yes, it is high risk, but as others have said that’s how you get the best rewards. You can pick and choose your history of failure/success on the gamble of moving to under performing teams… You also have to look at the other talent that Brawn is assembling at Mercedes, not just LH. And I don’t expect him to be at the front next year… it’s a building block for the new regs in 2014. It’s an all-round team effort. Good luck to Lewis and Mercedes.
Most great drivers, with the exception of Clark, changed teams to go onto greater things. Prost and Lauda moved twice whilst Fangio won 5 championships in four different cars. Everyone said Schumacher was mad going from Benetton to Ferrari but he built the dominant team of the first half of the 2000s. Maybe Hamilton will do the same for Mercedes in the latter half of this decade.
And maybe not.
I think one of Hamiltons question marks his he’s lack of ability to build on something, good at driving but development?
And I’m not to sure on Nico’s either, so who’s going to bring on the car?
Nico must have passed Williams’s apparently quite tough technical tests before driving there. Not saying that it’s a conclusive sign of a good development driver but he’s likely to be reasonable.
Can someone tell me what, precisely, Mclaren have won in the previous 12 years? I think it is one WDC, and that was to Hamilton.
No one thinks Perez signing is a commercial one? Vodafone leave as title sponsors for Mclaren this year and who backs Perez? TelMex, the largest South American Telco. Mclaren also have to start paying for engines soon, and finally, the road car division of Mclaren is losing money, as they’ve not hit their sales targets my some margin. This is a canny move by Hamilton.
More races than any other team in the last seven years.
But how many championships, which I believe Hamilton craves?
…and I said 12…
touche
Pretty sure Williams completed the same number of races as Mclaren in the last 7 years, and Ferrari 1 more (Indy) Typo?
Erm, he was referring to races “won”.
Do they hand out titles for that? Joe, I very much enjoy your blog and your article above offers a great perspective, but why are you being so argumentative with differing opions than yours…people are responding to your various comments and frankly the snap returns from you are amusing, in an unflattering way…and no, no matter what you say to me, I will still read your blog – yes, you are that good!!! LOL, relax, its only life!
Wait… what, raztek? You realize the people commenting on here are being argumentative towards Joe’s opinion… right? Joe is responding to those arguments in a manner consistent with his original opinion.
And no, of course they do not hand out titles for most wins than any team over the last seven years… but that does not make the statistic irrelavent by any means! It is still a VERY valid point. How many wins have Mercedes had in the last three years?
Why 12 years in particular?
Anyway, no-one other than Ferrari has won more than two WDC over that period.
I like you both, James.
McLaren/Sergio deal could be very shrewd, especially with potential sponsorship benefits. Lewis on the other hand is taking a massive risk with his career (but filling up his bank account).
And Joe!
Sorry.
whether or not this is a smart move remains to be seen, but i think the main motivation behind it is the fact that relationships at mclaren have soured to the point of no return. from the outside, it appears as if management has a bias towards button, and it makes sense. button is whitmarshs project, while lewis was rons. so button winning and beating hamilton is a personal success for whitmarsh, while wins by hamilton are to a certain degree an extension of ron dennis management of the team. so if whitmarsh wants to distinguish himself from his predecessor, he needs button to win a championship, not lewis. how this will work out for them remains to be seen.
furthermore, mclaren was successful when they were a manufacturer backed team. one could even argue that in fact, until 2010 they were de-facto a manufacturer team. as a customer team, they weren’t very successful, so their future is in doubt, especially considering that engines will play a more important role from 2013 onwards. they might well end up like williams did after loosing renault.
last but not least, if you look at lewis career at mclaren, except for winning the championship in 2008, it reminds you a lot of raikonnens career at the team. a man considered to be the fastest driver on the grid constantly looses out on the championship due to unreliability and errors made by his team.
hence, i think that lewis decision has nothing to do with sponsorship money and becoming a celebrity, but rather with the fact that he reckons that as far as championships go, mclaren will always come second. he drove at his most consistent in the fastest car on the grid this year, and things still haven’t worked out. so he did everything he could to, and things still didn’t work out. the only other thing he can do on his own is to change teams. and that is exactly what he did. we’ll see if it works out for him or not.
If I could speak as eloquently, you would have taken the words out of my mouth…cheers, 100% agree
Certainly the fact that despite doing HIS job to its fullest and still enduring team gaffes, etc., he is well behind where he could have been, combined with the fact that someone else is getting paid for his celebrity, is setting yourself up for capitalizing on your own brand value, really that wrong…
As an example here, I’m sure Joe doesn’t appreciate other websites/commentators names being displayed in HIS blog as it may impact his own piece of the pie he has carved out…no one, rightly so, calls him on that, so why all the ill will towards a guy doing the same thing for himself…
Will he win at MB, who knows, is it a right career move, absolutely if he wants to earn his max potential, as for racing, will see, as pointed out several times in the responses, its not like he’s going to a team started up by his buddy Pollock…he’s going to a team that was just assembled with some of F1’s greatest minds…will it be a success, who knows, but past and recent experience at McLaren clearly shows he’ll win races, not championships as the one he did get was a fluke (through his and the team’s mistakes) and the one that he missed out on was due to rookie errors as he should have locked that out a few races earlier…
good luck to him, Benz, Perez and Mclaren…can’t wait to see how this unfolds
A nice observation, for all the differing points of view, it’s clear people care for Hamilton. Considering the general feeling I got was this move would be stupid, from the comments recently, I hope the sentiments translate into something good for him.
Anither observation,
Perhaps the drivers who have lost out in this are Nico Hulkenberg and (especially?) Paul di Resta? Either of them may have had Mercedes or McLaren hopes.
Well, if that was their ambition… they should have performed better than Sergio Perez.
That was a very short post by your standards John! Were you in a rush…. 😉
…or was it that John normally doesn’t have time..
…“Je n’ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que n’ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte”
– The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter…Blaise Pascal’s
often mistaken to be a Mark Twain quote “if I had more time, I would write a shorter letter”…
Now Mclaren have two drivers with a very similar driving style – saving money – Hamilton hasn’t outperformed the car, he is fast but yet far more inconsistent. What makes him think that Mercedes will suddenly get better. Mclaren for all their recent failings have been there or there abouts when it comes to championships. Brawn one won, then almost lost out to Red Bull. He’ll regret this decision.
I am astonished that Lewis has been blinded by, what? Money, fame, independence and turned his back on uncle Ron and co something he may well regret next year.
If he is banking on rule changes favouring Merc, then he could be in for a shock as may the whole grid. I still think that this http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19751443 is the far bigger story, which will affect everything in F1 and throw all the balls in the air.
Now that Mercedes have finally decided to stay in F1 and sign the new agreement, I have to say that I think the move will be a good thing. To get a different result you have to do something different. The result Lewis yearns for is a second and a third and more championships. This year he could well win more GPs than anyone else but not win the championship. Kimi is above him in the championship but has no wins. To win the championship it takes more than a car that can win some races – it takes consistency and reliability – qualities that McLaren have been short of for some time.
Judging by reports, McLaren have also shot themselves in the foot by approaching these ‘negotiations’ with an ‘of course he won’t leave’ attitude. They seem to have woken up too late.
Also, during the course of this year an amazing engineering team has come together at Mercedes. Assuming they don’t spend all their time arguing and their combined best endeavours can be harnessed – you have to say that you expect something good from a combination of Brawn, Bell, Willis and Costa.
I was hoping that Lewis would go to the rejuvenated Williams (under the excellent and ex McLaren Mike Coughlan) after the very public invitation from Frank. Now that would be exciting!
Really can’t understand all the nay-sayers or this article slant on things – yes history can provide an insight an sometimes a clue as to how things are – but we’ve got to consider things at a level. Have you never changed jobs in your own career ? – are you still in the place of work that gave you your big break many years ago? – People must be allowed to change – freshen or change their future outlook – otherwise they will go stale. I am a big LH fan, probably a bigger Mclaren fan, but even I have to realise that nothing lasts forever.
For those that lambast LH for taking the money and switching – think of it like this, you ask your boss for a pay rise- he says no – in fact he wants to decrease your salary – you feel that you have performed in your role to the best of your abilites – you think ok and look elsewhere. A similar job is there – paying a huge amount more than you think your worth- what do you do? even if the commute is an extra half hour, are you really going to stay where you are?
I think that its a shrewd gamble by LH and his team with a fall back – even if the car does not deliver or Mercedes perform poorly – he will at the very least maximise on the potential of celebrity, as it was foreseen when he enter the paddock, he was always going to be one of the richest sport stars in the world – this move confirms that’s his goal.
He knows and most people acknowledge he is one of the three quickest drivers currently – how long his career on track will be no-one can tell – whilst here he may as well maximise what he can do, and if he win a WDC with Mercedes in the next 3 years then he will count that as a bonus!
I think Lewis was just bored at McLaren, Ive had that feeling of being trapped in an organisation before, of being stuck in a rut, and have left good jobs simply because I had itchy feet. Throw in Simon Fuller and Ross Brawn saying nice things about Mercedes and you have a driver move on your hands, is it the right move? Who knows?
I’m sure Ross would have been saying things about Mercedes buying power and their advance knowledge of the archticture of the 2014 engine, and no doubt Fuller would have been telling Lewis about how much freedom he would have, rather than feeling constrained at stuffy old McLaren.
On the subject of manufacturer teams in F1, I always think it is interesting that if you arrange the recently departedones in order of achievement it reads
1, Renault
2, BMW
3. Honda
4, Toyota
And now arranged in order of budget
1, Toyota
2, Honda
3, BMW
4, Renault
Interesting isn’t it? There has to be a lesson in there somewhere. I have always thought that a manufacturer entering F1 should follow these rules, 1 buy an existing team (race winners if possible) 2, base it in the Uk. 3, Put in good people with F1 experience to run it for you. 4, provide a decent budget, (but not over the top). 5, leave it alone. no meddling!
We can see that Toyota got all these wrong and paid the price, but we can see that Mercedes seem to have got them all right, the only question mark being the meddling. Hopefully they will resist the urge to inflict cumbersome manufacturing strategies etc, if they do, they might just win a few championships.
Very interesting! Thanks for pointing that out.
“when they say it is not about the money, then you know it is about the money”
George Young, general manager of the NFL Giants.
How abouts – Shoemaker to replace Massa
Have read a lot of sites and posts but no-one has considered that it was not Hamiltons choice to stay. For me I have been very bored of late with Hamiltons attitide and if I were McLaren I would be too.
I find it quite conceivable that McLaren stuck to thier guns over contract in order to leave Hamilton little choice than to either start acting his age or leave (and probably were happier with the latter).
I am both a McLaren and Hamilton fan so I am sad to see the news however I can’t help feeling that Perez may just show the world just how good he is, one of my favourite young drivers the past few seasons, and that McLaren have made a very shrewd move before another team picks him up. If they can give button another 2-3 years that could be a winning partnership as his temprament and experience could be vital.
As for Hamilton I think this is a bad move (but hope I am wrong). Not that I think there is as much wrong with Mercedes as people are saying but more due to what the infamous history tells us. With big rule changes coming in 2014 it would have been better to sit it out at McLaren for another couple of years. Recent history has shown that big rule changes often mean a change in the team at the top, a much better time to make a move is after the first season under the new rules.
Time will tell.. then it will become history 😉
Wondered the same myself, especially after seeing an interview with Ron Dennis a few of races ago. Upon being asked The Question re LH, RD dryly reminded the interviewer just who was employing whom here. No way will us great unwashed ever see all of the cards he’s playing. I’d rather Ron was my negotiator in an F1 business matter than the LH’s group.
I only hope, that a move to Mercedes, results in less dumb camera coverage of the ” hangers on” in the Mercedes pits.
I would rather watch the cars on track, than see constant cuts to “B list” celebs, standing around the garages.
We get to see if Rosberg is fast , first fast team mate
Schumacher to Ferrari?
Why not? Sign as a number 2 and try to match Alonso to prove you’ve still got it…
Doubt it, but could be very very interesting…
Brave from Hamilton, perhaps he knows something about the long term future of McLaren’s engine plans after 2014. And I read on Autosport.com that Schumacher is talking to Sauber. That link up I would find very surprising.
there is other history as well. Williams and Renault, when that relationship ended Williams went into decline while Renault did the opposite. I don’t suppose McLaren will go down so much but they must be losing something by becoming simple engine customers
So I guess it looks like this for part of the field next year there:
Hamilton to Mercedes, Perez replaces Hamilton at McLaren & [according to rumours] Jaime Alguersuari replaces Perez at Sauber.
Amidst all the excitement of Hamilton and Perez I can’t help feeling quite disappointed for Di Resta. It seems as if there’s always been an expectation that he would be next in line for a Mercedes or McLaren drive. I can’t help but wonder if this is his one big chance gone: will he be remembered as another Nick Heidfeld?
What is all this talk about Lewis and Sergio? Of course it is massive news, but what about Michael? I have always been a fan of Schumacher. I started watching F1 in 1998, so his worst alleged offences I never saw, but his fights with Häkkinen were amazing; Häkkinen in the better car and Schumacher being the better driver (in my opinion from watching them race).
After his return I have hoped that he would fair better than he has and even though he has struggled, remember that he was running in second place in China before the wheel nut fell off, so he has shown good pace.
I would love for him to fill the seat at Sauber, and it seems Peter Sauber would take him on, for a final year with nothing to prove and nothing to lose.
I fear this could turn out to be a career coloring move for both Rosberg and Hamilton… Hamilton may put Rosberg in the shade and still underwhelm in the Mercedes.
I agree with the post that Ferrari are likely kicking themselves at Perez slipping out to McLaren… One more year of Felipe Floundering?
What about the Slim sponsorship dollars $$$.
Is this part of the deal to sign Perez.
I doubt it. I hear that the Slim money is more talk than action
I remember part of Lewis’ excuses last year were being distracted by too many media / sponsorship / corporate events, that he had no choice but to attend due to his restrictive McLaren contract. What if, rather than using this oportunity to milk every last pound out of these deals, he cancels them all to concentrate on his racing? He would be unable to do this at McLaren.
I don’t think he will, but many are jumping to the conclusion that it’s all about the money.
Joe,
I’m really intrigued to know how the Perez to McLaren move will affect the Vodafone/Telmex sponsorships. Vodafone are trying to crack South America right and surely Telmex are competition to them. Could Vodafone be reducing its interest in McLaren? Would this have anything to do with the move? If not, please can you shed some of your insight to this idea or maybe write a new blog? Would be grateful for a reply.
On a side note. I am sad to see Lewis go to Mercedes.
how about this …. Schumi to Ferrari – that should set you all off
I just hope that this doesn’t rip a hole in Sauber’s finances if the Telmex sponsorship goes with Perez. Presumably there will be a good sum of money flowing from Woking to Hinwil…
There has been a feeling all year that the long-standing relationship between Hamilton and McLaren has run its course, and that each side is tired of the other.
McLaren certainly have a better long-term track record than Mercedes (/Brawn/Honda/BAR etc.) – though they seem to be consistently the second-best team in any given year – but perhaps it is time for something new for both sides.
Since his stellar first year, Hamilton hasn’t really developed as much as one might have expected – he’s always been blindingly quick, but the elementary errors that could be put down to inexperience in 2007/08 still keep coming (though there have admittedly been fewer of them this year). One can’t help feeling that a change of team, and the guidance of Ross Brawn, might just bring out more in Hamilton than staying put for another season or two at McLaren.
Perez and Button in McLaren, meanwhile, should be a good match: a strong proven quantity in Button, who presumably still has a couple of seasons at the top ahead of him; and a promising youngster who has time and opportunity (if he lives up to the expectations) develop further into a strong contender in the longer-term.
So Schumacher to replace Massa at Ferrari until SebVet joins with his mythical/legendary pre-contract?
Lobs in grenade and shuts door. 🙂
Mclaren have won only one championship in the past 12 years, I think the very thing Hamilton craves. He’s gambled on Merc being able to do more. I don’t see it being a particularly large gamble, giving the manufacturer, and team principle, involved in the move.
If I were Martin Whitmarsh I would respond by not inviting LH to drive for my team in the last races of 2012. Put every effort into JB and recruit another who could bring home some points, that would be an apt example of loyalty rewarded!
This in itself may explain why you are not nor ever will be Martin Whitmarsh. Employees come and go. MW is responsible for the team and winning the constructors title.
I wish them all the very best and this move alone will make next year that little bit more interesting…
Bombing out a loyal employee who won the world championship at this stage smacks of rampant egotism and that isn’t something I would associate with MW closer still, it is a classic is a cutting one’s nose off to spite one’s face. Facile and ultimately futile.
This is business and in business there are no prisoners. If LH believes a move is the right one for him as an adult he is perfectly free to take that choice. It is not a betrayal of Mclaren. Rest assured they would dump him when they deemed it the right time.
“That might make him an international celebrity on a bigger scale than he is, but it will not make him a racing legend.”
Why not? It worked for the biggest self publicising loser in history STIRLING MOSS.
I cant see Lewis regretting this for one moment, whilst lying on a beach with his pussycat doll and his money in the bank!
As a race viewer and F1 fan I take a selfish view here. I’m fascinated to see how Rosberg stacks up against Hamilton. It will be a great barometer. I’m equally keen to see how Lewis copes if Mercedes continue their mid-field level of performance.
Perez against Button will similarly be an interesting comparison. We should see in short order if he’s got the stuff legends are made of or is another journeyman.
I’m all for these moves. It mixes it up and improves my show.
i hope he knows what hes doing
I blame Sam Michael…..
Hahaha!
Thing is, you never know… Back when Jenson switched to McLaren *everyone* thought he was crazy and would get buried by Hamilton. He did not and that did his career lots of good in terms of legitimacy. Who’s to say Mercedes won’t have a great car next year… Granted McLaren looks good now, but they haven’t won a team title in ages either… It may not be a bad call at all on Lewis’ part, especially if he takes a dog of car and helps make it a winner.
Pffffftt. Much mention is being made of the new Mercedes engines from 2014, but was it not a Mercedes gearbox/diff which put paid to Hamilton’s chances of the WDC at the last race? Much has been made of Brawn’s pedigree, but he was only one part of the Schumacher/Brawn/Todt/Byrne era, of which perhaps he was not the pivotal factor. Famed as a great strategist, there have been some rough decisions since. The might of Honda didn’t produce the results as expected. Mercedes’ inability to understand the tyres this season shows fundamental weaknesses which don’t vanish from one season to the next. I seem to remember the best funded team being Toyota, and money didn’t equate to race wins then. If Rosberg and Schumacher can’t drag out significant success in three years, what would suggest that Hamilton can?
I think the era of Ferrari dominance was due to a great combination of talent in the whole team, coupled with tens of thousands of miles of testing. Since testing has been phased out, most of the teams seem to have got closer together. So I think it would be unwise to expect single team dominance for several seasons to reappear. With the exception of a double diffuser championship, there have been no particular high points to Brawn’s career since leaving Ferrari, and even in that championship season, car development petered out towards the end (arguably though as they were a skeleton team and largely skint.)
Customer engines for McLaren may not be a bad idea, as they don’t seem to be holding Sauber or Williams back this year.
I welcome Sergio to McLaren. I think if he beats Hamilton in his old seat next year, a crisis of confidence for Hamilton will ensue, and history/bunk shows he rarely performs well when emotional pressures are applied outside of the car.
I think he had little option to change teams, as no world champions ever stay with the same team for their whole careers, but was it a wise decision? I think more credence and respect should be given to Joe’s opinions as he is at every race, has the ears of significant people, and has true insight into what is going on, rather than the view from the armchairs of his detractors.
In the meantime, I will watch from afar, doused in Lewis Hamilton aftershave, wearing his signature earrings, sunglasses, sipping a Hamilton protein shake, listening to his latest album and rubbing in Hamilton’s hair regrowth tonic, whist he struggles to build a team around him, without the pampering he received at McLaren.
Winners become superstars, but superstars don’t always become winners.
Although Mercedes might be happy at their coup, I think the folks in the PR and media (gaffe) department might be a touch more apprehensive…
Also, worth noting the decision seems harsh for Schumacher, who despite a few awkward/awful moments, has worked hard with a dog of a car for three seasons and has outqualified Rosberg so far this year. It’s clear he wasn’t doing it for the money. I hope he doesn’t shuffle back to his Swiss castle with a pipe and slippers. I wonder if Felipe is getting nervous? Alonso and Schumacher in the same car, now THAT would be exciting… but regrettably improbable. I’ll ask Eddie Jordan what he knows…
Funny, and I second the appreciation for Joe’s forthright opinion.
Only time will tell if the move to Mercedes was the right one for Lewis. I personally think that McLaren will be relieved by his decision regardless of what they say in public.The reality is that the honeymoon was over for both parties a long time ago. Roll on 2013. Pity Maldonado didn’t get the drive at McLaren instead of Perez.. He might have surprised a few people!
I am more excited about Sergio Perez. However, do you think M. Schumacher would go to Sauber with the intention of obtaining an equity stake in the team. Peter Sauber needs to look at an exit strategy. He retired once..
Traitor – I hope Mercedes are slow and he never wins again
Two yellow helmets at MB, it’s going to be fun telling them apart on the track. Assume that the petulant one in front is Lewis?
Ugh.
My opinion of Hamilton has been in steep decline the last few years. I expect to see him on some Celebrity Dancing show soon.
Interested to see how Perez does in a McLaren. He’s clearly got talent.
I suspect Lewis’s biggest challenge will not only be getting the car up to speed but his ability , or otherwise , to galvanise the team around him as Senna , Schumacher and Alonso have all achieved. He may be going as de facto number one but that position can only be reinforced if it is earned. I see Lewis as still being somewhat immature. McLaren as a team moulded around him , I suspect largely because he was their protege and not beacuse of his inate ability to shape people around him. Mercedes will perhaps will not be as warm in that respect as McLaren and this could ultimately be his downfall.
I recall Joe Saward saying that Nico Rosberg cannot have his talent and speed adequately fathomed, because we don’t know how quick MSC still is (was). Now we’ll have that measure
I dont think any of us can really understand the basis of this decision simply because we are not Lewis and we do not really know whats been going on in Woking over the last years….The Ferrari files, liegate, Ron moving on, JB on board, Whitmarsh etc etc etc
….if the working environment is not good then move on …for better or worse.
1) 2012 is not over so lets hope Lewis and McLaren get more wins and maybe both championships.
2) sad to see Schumi leave this way – but all good things come to an end…by some accounts Merc only jumped for Hamiltion because Schumi failed to sign for 2013…
3) as a fan of F1 I think its great – we get to see how good Rosberg is V Lewis, we get to see how good Perez is (or can be) V’s Button and we get to have Mercedes revitalised (after all VW would not pay for LH, a new engine and Ross and his cronies to do anything other than win…. failure is not an option for any of them…
4) speculation now moves on to Massa…..is he safe or does the merry-go-round still turn???
Was it for the money, or taking a leap of faith of some Ross Brawn magic leading the team to success? If the later – it must be one big leap!
I only deal in facts, not speculation. None of us know the outcome of Hamilton’s move but having followed this game pretty closely since 1955 I’d say that Joe’s final paragraph says it all. Hamilton could end up looking really clever, but if he doesn’t he’ll end up in pretty exalted company!
David M-K
Ottawa
All things considered I think it’s more the prospect of becoming a ‘global brand’ with the money involved, and less the likelihood of another immediate world championship with Mercedes, that is guiding Lewes’ star. I wonder if he asked his father’s advice?
AA, alonso left Mclaren and still havent won the drivers championship, yet…Lewis is a very good driver and best of luck to him but checo is in for a suprise regards to the performance of Mclaren. It wouldnt suprise me that checo is favoraite for the wdc next year in the right car and not lewis im afraid, merc aint a consistant winning car,yet…
Alonso did not leave from choice.
Yet again, Twitter will guide us on our prognosis. Lewis’ tweets over this year have been bizarre. Leaving aside tweeting team graphs, he has plainly been under the influence of someone as he tries to control the demons. Unlike the previous Lewis (2011), in 2012 he has been repeating some bizarre mantras written by others. Reading his tweets, you could be forgiven for thinking that he is being manipulated by a cult.
Not the guy we once knew.
Well put, Joe. Competitively, what a step down. Does Mercedes have a trick engine in the works that we don’t know about??
Here is to hoping Perez in his new ride outperforms Hamilton at Mercedes by a long shot. Maybe an under-performing Silver Arrow can pop the massive balloon that is Lewis Hamiltons ego…
I would have bet wrong on this one. The money and the celebrity must mean more to him than the racing. He already has enough money (I would think). Perhaps his management is more concerned about what Lewis can do for them vs what they can do for Lewis.
In fairness to Hamilton, he’s moving to a tram with the best current engine, at a stage where the engine is about to go through a major spec change. We won’t know if this was the right move or not until mid way through 2014.
Your right joe i take it Alonso was pushed out of Mclaren! Joe Will Mclaren develope their own engine with Recardo for 2014 season as all the engine manurfactures will have to start with a clean sheet regards to engine regs?
Assuming that Lewis made the wrong choice – as many people do – what does he really have to loose ?
He gets a lot more money in the short-mid term, and arguably will still be one of the most desirable drivers for the top teams a few years from now, when the dust has settled after the changes F1 will be going through during that time .
Not sure you can rely too much on history – at least, I imagine Vettel is glad he didn’t look at Stewarts and Jaguars results too closely to inform his decision. Having said that, I do agree – I can’t see Merc getting much better anytime soon and of all the teams are probably one of the more unstable entries as they have a rather large board to answer to. Short term gain (monetary) but long term demise I fear. Short and long term loss in performance, for sure…
Care to explain?
1. GuitarGraham
Nicely written Joe. Great to see some common sense arguements put forward. Can sombody please print this out and then nail it to Eddie Jordan’s head?
o Andrew
I can provide the Hammer, we’ll use a rubber mallett so he can continue to provide us with ‘entertainment’ in future.
1. Jeroen Hakkers
I wonder how EJ is feeling after being used by Fuller as a public StirThePot to get a better McLaren deal…
I grew out of saying “Ner-ner ne-ner-ner” when I was 10 years old.
Joe, you really think it’s a bright idea for Lewis to sit at McLaren for his whole career? Cute little dig at Renault’s achievements too. He’s taking a risk and good for him. Good for Sergio too.
Called it! I like to think the economic approach won out for Mercedes. The $$ Lewis represents is what likely allowed Mercedes to get some concessions form Bernie in what had been a stalled effort on Mercedes piece of the Concord agreement. And Now we’ll finally know what class of drivers Nico is in! My prediction there, Nico will have a great view of Lewis’ rear wing.
on September 9, 2012 at 06:54 Greatblue56
Is this a possible Mercedes End Around? Have they signed the Concord agreement yet? If not, a Lewis Hamilton on the team would certainly elevate their bargaining position. The smart move for Mercedes would be to offer Lewis the moon and the stars. Certainly the sponsorship would not be an issue. Working or driving with Michael would be a huge draw. Bernie would almost have to meet some demands. And the car? I’m thinking they will get it right sooner than later. It would be interesting to see what Lewis could achieve in a Mercedes.
Hi Joe
Martin Brundle made a comment on the F1 Show of Lewis perhaps getting “caught up in a bigger game” – no one picked up on that afterwards (as expected – Sky seem to go easy on McLaren).
This to me suggests there’s more to the Hamilton story than meets the eye. To me there is perhaps a bigger story in terms of the Merc Concorde Agreement and their future involvement in the sport as a team and engine manufacturer – did it hinge on signing Hamilton? He called Whitmarsh just before the Merc board meeting so it’s my guess they needed his decision by then and had the answer been no, the outcome of that meeting may have been very different.
Imagine if Merc pulled out of the sport and took their engines with them – a lot of teams are reliant on those engine at the moment, particularly if the V6’s are put back until after 2014 as has been muted.
So what part did Ecclestone, together with XIX, play in encouraging the move to help increase the circus revenues?
There’s a part of me that suspects this move is part of Bernies game of chess in pulling as much revenue into the sport as he can either via manufacturers or sponsors and the drivers in many respects are just pawns in those negotiations. That is the “bigger game” he got caught up in, albeit not unwittingly.
Am I a millions miles away do you think?
Late to the game and probably repetitive in my comment. Jacques Villeneuve Redux under slightly differing circumstances. JV won a title, was unable to garner an outrageous salary from the notably penurious Mr Williams; then his manager assists in forming a new team (BAR) and lands JV there with a boat load of cash, who then proceeds to win absolutely nothing for the next ten years, in various teams.
I hope Lewis enjoys trundling around mid pack for the extent of his contract and doesn’t become the whining, whinging little bee-atch Jacques became. And like Jacques he may find difficulty in finding the next top team to give him a ride once MB sours on his lack of production. After all it will be his fault, not the car or the team!
Tragically wrong decision IF HIS GOAL IS TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!
If anyone thinks there was a Bernie-Lewis-Mercedes conspiracy to help keep MB in the game they need to trade in their tin foil hats for new digital models, as the idea is totally daft (IMHO). Lewis is in the me-me-me-me operational mode and could give two hoots about “saving” MB or popularizing anything except his massive ego.
I think Lewis was out of options. I think his relationship with Ron was untenable, and he’d lost faith in the team, arguably with good reason. And the only door open was Mercedes. I feel bad for the guy. Hes hoping that everything he’s been told by Mercedes is going to come in to fruition, which most wont and then hopefully his agent was smart enough to put in a get out clause if Merc fail to deliver on there part. Then if the gods fall in to line and a seat appears (lets face it, at Red Bull) he might find himself at a team where he can compete and settle in.
Real champions make the teams happen for them
i could even see him going back to Mclaren years down the line. Time heals the deepest of rifts and the current management might have moved up the ladder.
Or fallen off.
Maybe time to take this one back Joe 🙂