Hamilton to Mercedes

[Derek Smith]

According to a very relaxed Hamilton:

"it is about the challenge. It is a step that I want to make."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formul...

It reads well and, in my opinion, believably. If it is indeed true, then good luck to him.

Edited by Derek Smith on Thursday 4th October 08:11

[FloppyRaccoon]

Derek Smith said:

According to a very relaxed Hamilton:

"it is about the challenge. It is a step that I want to make."

[url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/lewishamilton/9585118/Lewis-Hamilton-breaks-his-silence-on-reasons-for-F1-move-from-McLaren-to-Mercedes.html[.url]

It reads well and, in my opinion, believably. If it is indeed true, then good luck to him.

Comes across well.

Also here - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/103036

[Derek Smith]

FloppyRaccoon said:

Comes across well.

Also here - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/103036

You can see his point of view, can't you. He'd been with McL for a long time and he's looking for another challenge. Mind you, I'm a McL supporter and am sorry to see him go but for him it will be an exciting two or three years. From what we are reading, it is not a question of money so one must be inclined to believe his explanation.

[MGJohn]

I am also a McLaren enthusiast. I wish Hamilton well driving the three pointed star.

If as is possible, the future team McLaren struggle more for success in comparison to recent seasons it will not be because they no longer have Hamilton as their driver. Any of the top dozen or so F1 drivers currently on the grid will be more than sufficient. Button and Perez should do nicely if the car is good enough.

[airportparking]

I also like Macca, but do think they will suffer from not having Hamilton, and when that begins to happen it will be very interesting to see what pressure the will be on Whitmarsh, Im sure the share holders are already sharpining the knives

[skinny]

deadslow said:

AreOut said:

johnfelstead said:

Nico is an entirely forgetable journeyman driver, even Patrese had more fire in his belly.

lol wut? he is IMO the only driver beside Alonso (OK also Kimi and JB) that could do with F-car what Alonso is doing this year...

nope

i liked nico when he first came into F1. sadly since then he's been utterly forgettable, save maybe for the race win earlier in the year. i literally can't recall noticing him either on the track or in the results for a very long time. also-ran

[JonRB]

Bedazzled said:

Looking for a new challenge...? That would only make sense on the back of a second WDC, imho. I think he's made a daft decision and it's because his relationship with McLaren stagnated; simple as that. No disrespect intended, but I don't think his brain quite matches his [superb] driving.

On the other hand, it could be the making of him. Certainly Brawn and Lauda will give him some interesting new perspectives and experience. He may thrive in a slightly less Corporate environment. But I agree that it is a step down in terms of the car.

[Mini1275]

After being a bit disappointed when reading the news at first I'm now really looking forward to seeing Lewis and how he drives in the next few years.

Some of his best races were in the 2009 dog.

I really, really think he could win the WDC with Mercedes.

[Bitofbully]

Hmmmm.

""The car that I'm in right now is a car that I've developed. Next year will be an evolution of the car that I've helped develop and that will be a championship contender."

I think JB and the test team will have something to say about that.

[London424]

Bitofbully said:

Hmmmm.

""The car that I'm in right now is a car that I've developed. Next year will be an evolution of the car that I've helped develop and that will be a championship contender."

I think JB and the test team will have something to say about that.

Read the second part again. "helped" developed. Don't think anyone could argue with that.

[London424]

Here's the bbc interview where it appears the quotes came from.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19826361

UK only though I believe.

[anonymous-user]

Bedazzled said:

Looking for a new challenge...? That would only make sense on the back of a second WDC, imho..

Don't agree. We can all require fresh challenges irrespective of past success. You just never know when the bug to move will hit you.

[Mini1275]

A nice interview with Lewis here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=hlmm...

I haven't seen him this happy in ages, he seems to be glowing with excitement.

He seems more like the 2007-2009 Lewis to me. Good stuff.

I'm looking forward to next year a lot.

[airportparking]

The knives are out for another 100 pages or so

Bitofbully said:

Hmmmm.

""The car that I'm in right now is a car that I've developed. Next year will be an evolution of the car that I've helped develop and that will be a championship contender."

I think JB and the test team will have something to say about that.

[John D.]

Gaz. said:

Why oh why does every single word have to be broken down and micro examined?

Stupid isn't it.

[deadslow]

Mini1275 said:

he seems to be glowing with excitement.

My missus used to go like that.

[anonymous-user]

London424 said:

Here's the bbc interview where it appears the quotes came from.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19826361

UK only though I believe.

Brilliant stuff, I totally see his point of view. They should have won more championships, but it didn't happen. I think even if he was triple WDC he would have made the move. 6 seasons is enough in one team.

[vonuber]

Mini1275 said:

After being a bit disappointed when reading the news at first I'm now really looking forward to seeing Lewis and how he drives in the next few years.

Some of his best races were in the 2009 dog.

I really, really think he could win the WDC with Mercedes.

2009 dog? It won two races, hardly a dog. You mean 'not a top 3 car for the first bit of the season' car.
Anyway, be good if he did win it at Merc.

[shunaphil]

Whilst I am a fan of Lewis, I don't necessarily think that he is a 'team building' kind of driver, like MSC is or even JB - he is more a 'turn up and drive' sort of guy (like Kimi) - I just don't get the impression that he is the kind of person that can draw a disparate group of people onto his 'side' - and whichever way you look at it, a big part of his new drive is going to be building a team around him.

Whilst there can be little doubt he is very good at getting the best from pretty much any car, I am still not convinced he has the maturity to persevere when all is not going his way.

Having said all that I think he has probably got as far as he ever will at McLaren. I am not convinced that Merc can be WDC contenders - new rule changes will probably favour teams with strong design and manufacturing histories - Mc, Williams even.

Will all still be very interesting to watch!

[vonuber]

Gaz. said:

Can you really not see that the MP4-24 that won two races in the second half of the season was heavily developed from the original car that was at the bottom of the time sheets in winter testing and scored barely a dozen points in the first half of the 2009 season?

Lewis was DSQ (from 3rd, liegate), 7, 6, 4, 9, 12, 13, 16, 18 in the first 9 races. I would say that arguably he was poor midseason - Turkey to Germany - and that was only for 4 races. He went on to go 1, 2, Ret, 12, 1, 3, 3, Ret.
Rolling around in 18th permanently would be a poor car.

But meh, it doesn't really matter, just annoys me how people call that McLaren 'a dog' or a poor car. Poor by their consistent front row standards yes, but hardly slow.