The Lewis Hamilton Thread

Bad choice by Lewis, mark my words. It seems the deal sealer was the more relaxed corporate attitude with Mercedes. Now he can bring out his rap cd and launch a clothing line... I fear he won't find the F1 career which should be priority to any F1 driver with Mercedes. Another few wins? Maybe. Another championship? McLaren was the better option for both these things.

it is only an assumption and a pretty long shot to analyze what RBR are thinking right know. i honestly dont believe that even the company itself is pretty clear on what they intend to do in 4-5 years.

on a another note:

everyone involved in the hamilton transfer already has spoken to the world media. norbert haug, marting whitmarsh, ross brawn, hamilton himself, rosberg, perez, etc. the only one to still say something about it all is the old man ? hmmm, why would that take so long.

"With Hamilton's contract negotiations being handled by his management XIX Entertainment for the first time, questions have been raised whether his representatives were pushing for a move to Mercedes in order to increase income from personal endorsements."

I'm not buying the Vettel to Ferrari thing quite yet. Massa's apparent one year deal means nothing - they wouldn't commit to a driver who, in a Championship leading car, is only 7 points clear of a Force India driver (with all due respect to di Resta), is 9 places behind his teammate and is a massive 143 points behind (the 143 points difference would put someone ahead of Hamilton in the Championship!).

If Massa does indeed resign for just the year then I don't think that necessarily increases the chances of Vettel for next year - only that Ferrari don't have long-term confidence in Massa, which I think is a given, regardless of what they say. Even if you want a clear number 2 status behind Alonso, you need someone closer than that. There's always the option of extending Massa's contract should he actually show up in 2013.

That all means sod all though, as I said Hamilton was just using Mercedes as a pawn in his McLaren negotiations.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2012 06:03PM by gav.

So what you're saying is he wanted to stay with McLaren but the negotiatation went tits up?

No, but when Eddie Jordan's thoughts first went public, I thought so.

Ah well. .... dont give a @#$%& really. Sorry to see Michael go is all.
Stupid move by Lewis but his motives are questionable any way but he will rue the day ...... if you really are interested in the title, even though I dont like Mclaren, I would concede it is the better team by far compared to Mercedes. In any event I dont care if he never wins another world title again and I'm so glad that I dont have to support such an inept shambles of a team anymore so, thanx Mercedes never liked your road cars and your F1 effort did little to change my mind about you as a marque. You are just a chauffers dream but definately not an F1 team. Good luck Nico hopefully you'll see the light soon too.

Got to find some one to support ......... crap! Cant think of any one I like really Lol.
Well hope for Alonso this year and the next I guess ..... to be fair, he is the most awesome driver around at the mo.


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

Member of R.S.C.T Group

Everyone sitting comfortably? Good, then here's what Hamilton's helmet could look like next year:

Isaint Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ah well. .... dont give a @#$%& really. Sorry to
> see Michael go is all.
> Stupid move by Lewis but his motives are
> questionable any way but he will rue the day
> ...... if you really are interested in the title,
> even though I dont like Mclaren, I would concede
> it is the better team by far compared to Mercedes.
> In any event I dont care if he never wins another
> world title again and I'm so glad that I dont
> have to support such an inept shambles of a team
> anymore so, thanx Mercedes never liked your road
> cars and your F1 effort did little to change my
> mind about you as a marque. You are just a
> chauffers dream but definately not an F1 team.
> Good luck Nico hopefully you'll see the light soon
> too.
>
> Got to find some one to support ......... crap!
> Cant think of any one I like really Lol.
> Well hope for Alonso this year and the next I
> guess ..... to be fair, he is the most awesome
> driver around at the mo.

felt like that at the first moment as well, but hey, michael hasn't said he retires yet. why not see him in a ferrari next year. in addition, peter sauber said he would love to sign schumacher if he does not want to retire. on another note, schuey still hasnt made his mind clear of what he will dom which is a positive sign, since the last time we were told someone will replace hinm at his team (monza 2006, raikkonen) it was said immediately that schuey will retire too.
]
fingers crossed. the whole german media and experts (lauda, danner, etc.) want him to stay. so lets see..

mitadumapaga

My fingers are crossed.


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

Member of R.S.C.T Group

no one answered my question, but really, isnt anyone of you curious of why schuey is the only one to havent said anything about it yet ?? take monza 2006 for example. Not only schuey directly gave interview how he feels etc., but he also was the announcer of his successor. why is schu so silent about this now ??

I know, it makes little sense really but maybe it's just his way.
He had an option to extend in the summer but chose not to. Everyone seems to think that Mercedes got rid of him. Looks to me like he did not want to stay and who could blame him.
To have wasted his come-back on a team like that. In any event it looks like he just left it for everyone to work out the math themselves. Lewis takes his seat and he's out ..... everybody knows then.

Besides, what other reasoning behind the silencs could there be?
Perhaps a deal with Sauber, a privateer company........................... hmm, that's a real long shot. Well there isn't anything other than that. Truth is, if that's the only option availible better to retire don't you think?


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

Member of R.S.C.T Group

well, i would prefer seeing him in a caterham, rather than on the pitwall, like in malaysia 2009 for example (. boy, that was depressing, watching the race unfold, the rain coming and the rainmaster sitting on the pitwall watching the race, instead being part of it. so, a seat at sauber is better for me than watching michael never ever drive in Formula 1 again. and so i will never have the chance to visit a race of michael schumacher in formula 1 ! what a shame. i will never forgive myself i never found the money in the last 4-5 years to do so. live of the student after all.

anyway, the more realistic option for me is ferrari, but then again, I just dont feel this happening. not that ferrari wouldn't take him on a short term contract. It's rather the fact that schumacher has always driven with an aim. with ferrari it was to ressurect their legacy from the past. with mercedes, same thing. What would his aim at ferrari/sauber be ?? just drive for fun ? i honestly do not think that such a competitive man would just trumble around to have fun. it's not like him.

in cocnclusion, i see it like that for the moment:

80 percent retirement

15 % ferrari

5 % sauber

0,00001 % some other team.

i would take Michael in either Lotus or Ferrari. he doesn-t really need Brawn to win again.
it just shows how difficult it is to win in F1, and for me this is a prove that what he achieve in the beggining of this century is invaluable.

I'm glad Lewis is taking on a new challengue, it takes balls to do it, but i hope he did it for the right reason.

A fantastic read from Marc Priestley, confirming what I was saying in 2007 when most other Brits seemed to be in love with him, accepting Alonso as the twat in the team.

There are only two winners. (or 3 if you include us!)

Mercedes, and Perez. Mercedes have bagged themselves F1's quickest driver. Perez has bagged himself a top seat.

Possible losers? Schumacher, Lewis, Button and Mclaren IMO.

Schumacher could retire (again)?
Button has the risk of losing to Perez
Lewis has the risk of not getting a WDC opportunity whilst at the team.

I find it ironic that the SOLE reason Button left the Brackely team for Mclaren was because like Alonso before him, he saw Mclaren as a team that would produce a winning car, always. And he has been proved correct.

Lewis want's a winning car yet he is going to a team who's performances have no doubt been the most inconsistent of the last 3/4 years? I fully expect Lewis to deliver so much more than in that team than any other driver, I just don't believe it will be in the form of championships.

As for Button and Perez... Well Button losing to Lewis was and is expected. Over the course of the partnership I believe the total point difference tallies up to about a GP win. Which is impressive IMO.

If Button loses to Perez then that will only hurt Button's rep. Besides that Button knew losing to Lewis was not bad. He knew and recognized Lewis was mega. So for me, part of the reason Button has done so well is because he was not phased by losing to Lewis and he understood that often Lewis was simply quicker. I do not think Button will carry the same mentality for Perez. If Button loses to Perez I think it could hurt him.

For me, I'm worried about that.

As for us, the viewers. Im mega excited about seeing Lewis take an average car and do some special things with it. Alonso did in 2008 and 2009. And Lewis in 2009 was nothing short of sensational. Other than Button winning the title, Lewis's driving that year was IMO untouchable.

OH, last point. Button needs to realize 2013 will likely be his best shot at a title since 2009. Of course depending on how good Perez really is.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

the possible losers i believe are.... no one.

hamilton only wins. mcalren might have produced fast car on a regular basis, still though, mika, DC, kimi, montoya, alonso, hamilton and button ALL managed to win only 1 title for over a decade. therefore i do not believe lewis will be that big loser after all. besides, the fruits from mercedes's efforts with costa, willis, bob bell etc. will actually come to its true potential in 2013. and even if they suck just as much as they did.... well pretty much throughout the whole history of the team since 1999, 2014 will provide a great opportunity to shine on the big stage like BRAWN did in 2009.

schumacher is a possible loser, but hey, apparantely he didn't enjoy driving that car, pardon, i mean truck anymore and therefore he didn't sign a new deal with them when he had the chance. after monaco, valencia silverstone, and hockenheim he could stay with the team. he just didn't chose to.
The man could end up as the biggest gainer actually, if he secures a seat at ferrari. i dont think schumacher's thinking of a retirement. had it been like that, he would have just said it to the media already. In addition, the guy is an extremely competitive person (unlike massa, barrichello etc.) and would simply not accept such a miserable quitting from his second career.

as for JB. well, i agree with you 100% on the point that this will be his best ever chance to win a Driver Title. no matter how good perez is, JB has 3 years in that team, knows the car, its problems etc. and has also full support from the staff.

in conclusion i Honestly believe everyone could be a gainer in this situation, and if someone ends as a loser, its because they made it themselves.

I think Mercedes's route of getting some big names in the team might end up as being a bad thing. Too many cooks in the kitchen?
I have zero faith that they will provide a top car.

Okay, the start of 2012 looked good, looked very good but they have had issues with tyres, development which have been a constant problem for that team. Paying out £20mil for another driver will not change that.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Since if MS decides to retire again it'll definitely be for good this time, I'm really hoping he moves to different team instead. Mercedes are proving to just be another Honda, with the odd win or good result but no sign of a pattern of consistent good form.
If he moves back to Ferrari, to effectively be Alonso's #2, it'll be pretty ironic.
But the fact his replacement at Mercedes has been announced, and he still hasn't made an announcement on his future himself, suggests to me that he'll be continuing in F1.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2012 10:34PM by EC83.

What's also ironic is that Eddie Jordan spilled the beans on Schumachers return, AND on Lewis replacing him, and by extension, possibly Schumachers 2nd retirement :p

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL