Astroman

+1

teamking

I'm a fan of Button and don't particularly like LH's whining, but I'm with those that think this is actually a gutsy move. There is no doubt Hamilton is fast. Brawn was able to pull off a miracle when he had near unlimited funds from Honda, built three cars, took the best one, and then won the championships when Honda pulled out. I understand that the rumor is that Coca Cola is putting in big money. Rule changes loom on the horizon. This is actually an opportunity to develop a car that will be a Monster.

KurtC

He hasn't seemed happy at McLaren since last year. I hope he finds success, but the first thing I though was that this is a big mistake.

9.5 Degrees

Please tell me the last time Lewis Hamilton made a GOOD decision?

An F1 driver become a legend when he win multiple championships and is never forgotten.

Lewis Hamilton = Modern day Jacque Villeneave.

He has never had good managemtn behind him and these new entertainment managers can only bring him down. History will bear this out.

RajDatta

Sounds to me like he felt too caged within McLaren. This wouldn't be the 1st time a driver didn't feel comfortable at McLaren. They seem to be very corporate in their structure. I really like MW and think he is a great team principal. RD, not too sure about.
In the end, no matter how much success one has at their current job, if you are unhappy, you will be miserable. That seems to be the case with LH. Looking back, I think LH is doing what will make him happy. Kudos and good luck.

Carrera51

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. He's been having trouble getting along with his team for a while. I think the change will be good for all parties involved.

Circuit Motorsports

Stirling moss? Gilles?

Serge944

Wouldn't be surprised if McLaren "encouraged" Hamilton to leave after his recent stunts.

Flying Finn

+1

Gilles was the first name that came to my mind. Next was Hunt...

There's much more to it than numbers.

BC

Unfortunate - but - THIS ^

multi21

I can't think of 1 -- and I'm not joking. He's made so many poor decisions both on and off that you've got to really question his motives (aside from the 3 year paycheck). He's leaving the top car for a near mid pack car. Sure things change and each year the cars and rules differ, but McLaren is a team that has stayed near the pointy end of the grid for years.

My guess is that Perez will have more wins and points than Hamilton next year -- Hamilton will be an afterthought

jbossolo

^ What he said.

Flying Finn

Come on guys, you know I'm not a big fan of his antics and him in general either (other than I do think he's a good drover) but... No good decisions ever? You need to give him a little break here.

He went to Ron Dennis at very young age, told him he will one day race for him... Pretty good decision? No?
He then was very focused on karting & other racing and became better and better: Still no good?
Stayed away from partying & other normal stuff young adults do, and instead, remained focused on racing etc.: Still no good?!
Signed with McLaren for a multi your, $20 million dollar/year F1 racing deal... Can you guys at least give an "adequate decision" for this? Or maybe even good?
Dedicated enough of his live to become a F1 WDC... Bad?

You know I agree with you guys that this most likely wasn't a smart decision but there's no doubt he's done some good decisions during his lifetime and as I already mentioned, this could be in some ways commendable since he goes from a sure thing to very much unknown with marginal difference in money so it does require some guts and also, knowing McLaren, it's not the most "free" environment around... Just the fact that they take their drivers trophies IMO is a sign of kinda weird environment so there's certainly more to the story than just being dumb and wanting more money.

multi21

Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton are the top drivers today.

Alonso and Vettel are in top teams. I understand that McLaren is a very corporate, button down style team. Keeping the driver's trophies is something I don't understand at all since the constructor is given a trophy for the win anyways if their driver finished 1st in a particular race. But who is 100% happy with anything going on in their jobs or with their bosses?

He's already a multi-millionaire, the short term bump in pay will not equal what he gets on the back end with wins and glory to say nothing of the impending frustration that will happen with a mid pack team when you're used to winning.

Mercedes is not committed to F1 for the long haul. Why not sign a 1 year deal with McLaren and then go to Red Bull to be with Adrian Newey and a very loose team like RBR once Vettel's contract expires?

I think he's being influenced a tremendous amount by his pop star girlfriend and her hollywood types including the entertainment management team he now employs. Things could not have worked out better for Sergio Perez.... just saying...

Apex996

So is Niki Lauda an idiot also? It was upon his direction the switch was made.