The Lewis Hamilton Thread

Well the Perez to McLaren deal is confirmed which suggests that the Hamilton to Merc is also done.

I have to admit, I thought sense would prevail and Hamilton would stay at McLaren. Maybe he's banking on 2014 being a game changer and willing to endure a oblivious 2013 in preparation.

Ferrari have missed a trick, and Luca is a stupid old fool. All that investment they put into Perez and they've lost him to McLaren. But hey, Ferrari should never have two winning drivers right?

Telmex money logically dictates that Gutierrez will be promoted to vacant Sauber race seat. There are rumours that Schumacher is in talks, I don't buy them. But I think Sauber would be mad not to at least give serious consideration to Alguersauri.

Lewis confirmed at Mercedes. [www.mercedes-amg-f1.com]
Nico's thoughts: "Very cool that lewis will be my new teammate! Gonna be another great challenge!".

Now where is Schumacher going? Lotus? Sauber? Ferrari?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2012 11:19AM by mclarenaustralia.

J i m Wrote:
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> Ferrari have missed a trick, and Luca is a stupid
> old fool. All that investment they put into Perez
> and they've lost him to McLaren. But hey, Ferrari
> should never have two winning drivers right?

Well it's far too early to judge that, we have to wait and see what Vettel can do, as he must surely be on the way in for 2014.

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X (@ed24f1)

Sergio: "I’m thrilled and delighted to have become a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver. The McLaren name is one of the greatest in the history of Formula 1. For more than 40 years McLaren has been a team that every racing driver has aspired to drive for – I was brought up on the great stories of Ayrton Senna's many world championship triumphs for McLaren – and I'm truly honoured that they've chosen me to partner Jenson from 2013 onwards."

I am still wetting my pants at the Perez/Button partnership.

Button is the perfect role model for Perez, their conservative driving styles are quite similar. Can only work wonders for the car development!


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

Indeed... If their tyre management skills are a similar as we think and car development naturally revolves around that, then the results could be very interesting.

This is also the most perfect opportunity to calculate just how 'underrated' Rosberg is and how 'legendary' Hamilton is.

If Rosberg trounces Lewis, heads will roll. If Lewis trounces Rosberg, it will be his downfall and poor Nico won't ever get a proper top drive.

Equal sub-machinery. I do think this is going to bring the best out in both. I think it will revitalise Lewis to the bulldog days when he was with Alonso. And it'll give Nico a jolly good kick in the backside.

And failing that, we could be finally underlining a pair of overhyped drivers once and for all.

Formula One just got a lot more interesting!


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



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2012 01:16PM by danm.

Lewis now has to prove himself again and I think at mclaren it just got stale.

Button and Perez will be interesting but I do think Perez will beat him, neither are great over 1 lap though so they need to work on that.

Lewis should beat Nico, if old ms can then Lewis should be able to.

All very interesting stuff and best driver moves in years.

Shame to see schumi be replaced by hamilton. He has vastly improved since 2010 and has been driving fantastically (excluding singapore) I have 2 words that I would love to see together that's Schumacher/Ferrari. That'd be a dream come true. 2013 shaping up to be a very interesting season.

Jon Noble ‏@NobleF1
More fall out from driver announcements... Jenson Button has stopped following Lewis Hamilton on Twitter...and added Sergio Perez instead

Haha, serious business

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Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

Only he never followed him in the 1st place apparently

Nah, apparently Jenson never followed Lewis in the first place.

Well it's been an exciting day so far! I knew Perez would go to McLaren if Lewis left. If he improves his one lap place he'll be effective team leader, whereas at Ferrari he would have been playing second fiddle until 2016 or whenever. Ferrari were stupid to let him go, and their old-fashioned way of thinking has cost them. I don't think Vettel to Ferrari in 2014 is a foregone conclusion either. Why would he want to share the points with Alonso when he could be in a Newey-designed car as the regs change?

For Lewis I think this could be a good move. I think Mercedes are gaining what Mclaren have lost in the sense of a pair of different driving styles, one smooth and race-oriented, one attacking and good for qualifying. I don't think this is a big deal in the sense of Lewis proving himself in a dodgy car, since the 2009 McLaren was no good and he dragged that to victories.

He did... but it should also be noted that McLaren turned that car around significantly.. It was what 2 seconds a lap slower than a Williams into the first race?

Bye Massa, Hello Schumi?......... it would be the perfect end to an awesome carrer, to finish in Ferrari, even if he gets trashed by Alonso, but at least drive for 1 year....

who's the looser in all of this?, Nico?, i mean, we haven't seen them on track yet, but i'm sure Lewis didn't sign just a "drive for us" contract

Great stuff so far. We'll get to see Lewis take on a new challenge, and see Perez in a winning car. 2013 could be juicy!

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jbnd05 Wrote:
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> Nah, apparently Jenson never followed Lewis in the
> first place.

Which would be understandable, since they spend so much time together anyway with being teammates.


> I don't think this is a big deal in the sense of Lewis proving
> himself in a dodgy car, since the 2009 McLaren was
> no good and he dragged that to victories.

But it is a big deal - remember how Lewis went during the opening few races of 2009. By the time he started winning in it, the car had been improved almost beyond recognition and had winning pace.

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2014 will see a massive change with the rules and the engines. I suspect Lewis might have been thinking with 2014 in mind and the possible fall of McLaren as Mercedes withdraws more.

Any news on the supposed McLaren in-house engine development too?


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

I don't understand why Vettel would want to partner Alonso at Ferrari. Alonso is seriously established there. I think more likely that Seb will stay at RB. Only problem being is if RB get bored with F1 - its not their business after all. I do hope MS goes to Ferrari - I think he'll do a better job than Massa. Alternatively a position at Sauber for a year or two would be significant too. Didn't he start with Peter Sauber in sportscars?

I doubt Red Bull is getting bored with F1. They use extreme sports as a branding strategy on a global scale. An F1 exit would signal an end to the spearhead of that branding strategy.

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It's only after we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

"I doubt Red Bull is getting bored with F1. They use extreme sports as a branding strategy on a global scale. An F1 exit would signal an end to the spearhead of that branding strategy."

Yes agreed generally but they are involved in a whole range of platforms and F1 is a very expensive part of that strategy - it doesn't necessarily mean it is financially feasible long term for their market development. They, like engine manufacturers for different reasons may decide its worth giving it a rest for a while and re-evaluate in a decade.