The Lewis Hamilton Thread

Right.

What's he up to? Do you think he will stay at Mclaren or go somewhere else? IS it Mercedes? Or have Ferrari been talking to him?

Mclaren have been speaking to Perez as a replacement. Do you think this means Lewis is leaving? Do you want him to?

What do you think?

Probably McLaren just forcing Hamilton's hand. Perez is a Ferrari driver - I really can't see him joining anyone else at the moment.

nobody has mentioned anything about Lotus, i'm sure they're happy with Grosjean, or maybe not?, but if Hamilton wants to leave Mclaren to pursue a challenge somewhere else, why not Lotus?, he'll go against Kimi and the team hasn't been that bad, it's pretty good actually, better than Mercedes

i really don't see him in Mercedes unless they're secrtely switching with Rosberg.

He won't go to Ferrari - that's a no-brainer as long as Alonso is driving for them.

It's about whether he goes to Mercedes or stays where he is, and right now I think either of those things is equally possible. It should be obvious to him that staying at Macca is the way forward, but is it? He's hinted several times now that he'd like to change team - and we've had some interesting driver lineups and lineup changes over the last few seasons.
Also, I'd love to see how he goes in a different team.

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Don't care where he goes so longs it's not in Schumies seat.
Would like to see him in a team that he has to work through though. Never seen him in that position, would be interesting to see how he copes with a car that is not quick from the get-go?


" Perfection is not a gift ....... it comes with practice."

Member of R.S.C.T Group

I hope he does a Damon Hill and goes to a team like TWR Arrows... Highly Unlikely, but would be pretty funny. again, as long as it isn't Schumi's seat.

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Slash
nobody has mentioned anything about Lotus, i'm sure they're happy with Grosjean, or maybe not?, but if Hamilton wants to leave Mclaren to pursue a challenge somewhere else, why not Lotus?, he'll go against Kimi and the team hasn't been that bad, it's pretty good actually, better than Mercedes

All true, but the rumoured reason for the potential change is, as well as money, Mercedes can offer him more of a celebrity status that a pure racing team won't be able to... and sadly, that seems to be his primary motivation now.

If he wanted a team for pure racing purposes, then yes, Lotus, or just stay at McLaren. And there's not a hope in hell that Lotus could even offer him the salary what McLaren will be, let alone Mercedes.

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elpasho2005f1
I hope he does a Damon Hill and goes to a team like TWR Arrows... Highly Unlikely, but would be pretty funny. again, as long as it isn't Schumi's seat.

You're right, it is unlikely that he'll end up at TWR Arrows.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2012 08:15PM by gav.

loque Wrote:
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> Right.
>
> What's he up to? Do you think he will stay at
> Mclaren or go somewhere else? IS it Mercedes? Or
> have Ferrari been talking to him?


I hope he will take Nico's seat. Just to see how badly he will be beaten by MS.

Kimi, so, Massa Fernando Sebastian is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?

I will get slated for this, but it's time for Schumacher to go. Realistically, he probably won't win again and hasn't really got anything else to achieve.

His 7 titles is liable to go unbeaten due to the current competitiveness of the field and the potential of so many other drivers. We'll have the Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton triumvirate fighting each other for a few more years, with Raikkonen, Button and Perez (and possibly Grosjean) liable to challenge too. Then there's the potential of drivers like Pic, Hulkenberg, Di Resta and Bottas too. Any one of them could be capable of a championship, given the right equipment.

I wouldn't wish for Rosberg to lose his seat, because I still think he's a cracking driver. I think the 6:1 ratio quoted earlier puts him in a bad light, as in a few of those races Schumacher was behind him before dropping out anyway. The commanding win at China proved he CAN win, but the car's far too variable to paint a clear picture. In a field as close as we have in 2012, Merc will wish for some consistency.

Why would Hamilton want to join Mercedes? It's a chance to get full backing from the engine department, and it's a chance again to make the team his own. He might motivate Rosberg a bit too, being former team-mates in karting and having raced against each other in F3 Euroseries too. Ultimately, it could be a fresh start. (Oh, and the £££...)

Why would Mercedes want Hamilton? Yes, he's a bit of a sore loser. But his determination to win is probably unmatched by the current incumbents. He'd be a good bet to kickstart the team's progress; having had the same driver lineup since entry in 2010 does bring stability, but is it a bit stale? Hamilton would freshen the team up, and give the team some clues as to how McLaren works and allow the team to change a few things.

McLaren would then be free to take on Perez. Personally, I think Ferrari are mad not to give him a seat in 2013 and with Vettel rumoured for the 2014 seat alongside Alonso this would mean there still wouldn't be the room for Checo. McLaren have the chance to punish them, and having two drivers with a calm style means that less compromise is required when building the car. I think a Button-Perez partnership would be a very good combination.

Massa would probably retain the Ferrari seat if the rumoured Vettel deal happens. There's no point in hiring another driver on a one-season basis, and Massa has upped his game too.

I don't imagine Hamilton would go to Lotus. Raikkonen and Grosjean has the potential to be a real force in 2013, if the former can find his old form and if the latter has learned from Spa. They probably wouldn't have the money to pay for him either.

Off on a tangent, I really thought Pic would be out of his depth. Admittedly, I thought Marussia were mental to boot D'Ambrosio out but it turns out Pic is a great little racer. He's the closest match to the more experienced Glock there's been so far and I really think he deserves to go far. D'Ambrosio does strike me as a Heidfeld-style driver; nothing flashy, but keeps the car on the road and is rather consistent. I don't believe he could have done any more at Monza, especially with the apparent KERS failure. As for Di Grassi, he was just @#$%&.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2012 08:57PM by Incident 2k9.

@Incident Nico won at China not Malaysia.

My gut feeling is that Hamilton will remain at McLaren next year even if it's a short term deal with get out clauses. It makes sense that way and not for so called loyalty, celebrity or maturity factors but for the simple reason that Mclaren are option that offers him the best chance of winning which is ofcourse what he wants ultimately.

Maybe a change from 2014 with the next significant change in regs that offer a chance to other teams to make a big leap in form will be attractive to him, maybe Merc will entice him, they did afterall as Brawn take good advantage of the last tech changes, or maybe Red Bull will be the favoured option because if the Newey factor.

As for Schumacher.. I think he's on fine form, I don't think he's thrashing Rosberg but he is making a good fist of his current car and I sense he's enjoying racing still. So I think he'll continue into next year.. most likely with Merc because Ross Brawn has always been a main lynchpin of team Schumacher yet the only team which might lure him away I think is Ferrari.. Luca Montzelemo is yet to get over the fact that Schumacher returned to F1 with a different team but I bet he'd still love him back, he says Perez is too inexperienced for Ferrari... So if he's going to give Massa the boot and it's experience he wants then who better than Schumacher to keep the seat warm until the oft rumoured arrival of Vettel?

I sort of hope for a swap - Hamilton for Rosberg. I think Hamilton and Schumi next season could be entertaining. Does anyone know what Nico's contract position is with Merc?

davidm Wrote:
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> I sort of hope for a swap - Hamilton for Rosberg.
> I think Hamilton and Schumi next season could be
> entertaining. Does anyone know what Nico's
> contract position is with Merc?

He's contracted for next year, and possible for 2014 too as he signed a multi-year extension at the end of last year.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

I'm quietly hoping for a Hamilton-Schumacher swap. That would be all kinds of awesome.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2012 11:56PM by EC83.

Brundle seems to think we will know tomorrow, and if this is the case then he will be staying at Mclaren as Brawn has said they are not in a rush to decide and MS still has time to make up his mind.

Tom Cary says that Hamilton's definitely going to McLaren - to be announced today - and that Perez may even be announced as his replacement in the coming days.

[www.telegraph.co.uk]
[www.telegraph.co.uk]

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X (@ed24f1)

It's just been on the news. Lewis has replaced ms at merc.

It's expected to be Perez going to mclaren, ms to Ferrari and Massa to Sauber.

BBC News are reporting Perez has signed, though there's no other confirmation.

[www.bbc.co.uk]

Amazing. Button/Perez will be an actual super team.

Lewis/Nico = Also epic team battle. I expect Nico will be thrashed, or might finally give him a gritty edge to his barbie driving style.

So I guess if the other rumours of Schumacher to Ferrari on a 1 year deal come true, we can expect that Vettel to Ferrari 2014 a billion percent true.

Or maybe Schummi is heading to Sauber - which I actually think is currently a better option than Mercedes to be honest. Sauber is a tidy little outfit.


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2012 10:31AM by danm.

Yep, everywhere else now: [en.espnf1.com]

What a great move!

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Anyone else now notice all the world champions are each in one of the top 5 different teams.


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it