It's Official: Lewis Hamilton is a COMPLETE IDIOT
09-28-2012, 12:33 AM
#1
It's Official: Lewis Hamilton is a COMPLETE IDIOT
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton signs for Mercedes as Schumacher's replacement
By Jonathan McEvoy
PUBLISHED:17:41 EST, 27 September 2012| UPDATED: 18:38 EST, 27 September 2012
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Lewis Hamilton will cut ties with his boyhood team McLaren and replace Michael Schumacher at Mercedes, Sportsmail can reveal.
Sources in Germany indicated that the car giants will announce Schumacher’s second retirement at their headquarters in Stuttgart on Friday morning, leaving the way clear for Hamilton to accept a deal worth up to £60million, including win bonuses, over three years.
It will bring to an end the Briton’s 14-year association with McLaren, the team who sponsored him from when he was a 13-year-old karting prodigy.
Decision to make: McLaren star Lewis Hamilton's future remains unclear
Hamilton’s critics will say he is leaving for money but it is understood the offers on the table were similar. His basic Mercedes salary of around £15m — the same figure he is on at McLaren — will maintain his status as one of the grid’s top earners alongside Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and possibly Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
That said, Mercedes will offer greater freedom than McLaren in letting Hamilton’s management company, Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment, to strike personal endorsements for their man.
More important than money — and Hamilton is known to be cautious with his finances — is his desire to improve on a return of one title in five completed seasons, a disappointing statistic for a driver who envisaged himself as a serial champion on his much-heralded arrival in Formula One.
Rollercoaster: Hamilton has had an up-and-down season at McLaren
The will-he-won’t-he saga has captivated the sport for months but in the end the attraction of a fresh start, away from a team where he has always been treated with parental care, appears to have been too hard for the 27-year-old to resist.
The other governing factor was his desire for a championship-winning car. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh always claimed that staying put represented the best chance of success, but the evidence for that assertion is patchy: though they are regular race winners, McLaren have won just a single drivers’ title since 1999.
The question is whether Mercedes, who have support at board level in Germany but are run from Brackley, Northamptonshire, are better equipped to deliver. They have only been back in the sport as manufacturers since 2010, though in their previous guise as Brawn won the title through Jenson Button.
Flashing the cash: Mercedes have tried to tempt Hamilton to their team
Ross Brawn, the engineering svengali behind all seven of Schumacher’s titles, remains team principal and his presence is sure to have been a major lure for Hamilton with significant changes to the engine regulations due for the 2014 season.
Brawn exploited a previous revamping of the technical blueprint in 2009, allowing Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate Button to waltz to his championship success. With Mercedes as engine makers, Brawn is well placed to conjure another trick.
Conversely, McLaren, who get their engines free from Mercedes as part of a long-term association, will have to pay for their supply from next year. That will put a strain on their budget.
End of the road: Michael Schumacher will announce his retirement from F1 for the second time
Mercedes have won one race this season to McLaren’s five but it is probable that Hamilton would extract more from even this existing car than the 43-year-old Schumacher and his team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton is close to Norbert Haug, Mercedes’ head of motor sport, who often acted as an avuncular supporter of the young Briton back when the German manufacturers were in full partnership with McLaren.
As for Schumacher, he has been a shadow of his formerly dominant self since coming out of his first retirement in 2010. He has managed just one podium, this year in Valencia.
McLaren are likely to turn their attention to Sauber’s Mexican Sergio Perez. Another conceivable contender is Scotland’s Paul di Resta, of Force India.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/for...#ixzz27jQrQGkT
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
By Jonathan McEvoy
PUBLISHED:17:41 EST, 27 September 2012| UPDATED: 18:38 EST, 27 September 2012
.
Lewis Hamilton will cut ties with his boyhood team McLaren and replace Michael Schumacher at Mercedes, Sportsmail can reveal.
Sources in Germany indicated that the car giants will announce Schumacher’s second retirement at their headquarters in Stuttgart on Friday morning, leaving the way clear for Hamilton to accept a deal worth up to £60million, including win bonuses, over three years.
It will bring to an end the Briton’s 14-year association with McLaren, the team who sponsored him from when he was a 13-year-old karting prodigy.
Decision to make: McLaren star Lewis Hamilton's future remains unclear
Hamilton’s critics will say he is leaving for money but it is understood the offers on the table were similar. His basic Mercedes salary of around £15m — the same figure he is on at McLaren — will maintain his status as one of the grid’s top earners alongside Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and possibly Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
That said, Mercedes will offer greater freedom than McLaren in letting Hamilton’s management company, Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment, to strike personal endorsements for their man.
More important than money — and Hamilton is known to be cautious with his finances — is his desire to improve on a return of one title in five completed seasons, a disappointing statistic for a driver who envisaged himself as a serial champion on his much-heralded arrival in Formula One.
Rollercoaster: Hamilton has had an up-and-down season at McLaren
The will-he-won’t-he saga has captivated the sport for months but in the end the attraction of a fresh start, away from a team where he has always been treated with parental care, appears to have been too hard for the 27-year-old to resist.
The other governing factor was his desire for a championship-winning car. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh always claimed that staying put represented the best chance of success, but the evidence for that assertion is patchy: though they are regular race winners, McLaren have won just a single drivers’ title since 1999.
The question is whether Mercedes, who have support at board level in Germany but are run from Brackley, Northamptonshire, are better equipped to deliver. They have only been back in the sport as manufacturers since 2010, though in their previous guise as Brawn won the title through Jenson Button.
Flashing the cash: Mercedes have tried to tempt Hamilton to their team
Ross Brawn, the engineering svengali behind all seven of Schumacher’s titles, remains team principal and his presence is sure to have been a major lure for Hamilton with significant changes to the engine regulations due for the 2014 season.
Brawn exploited a previous revamping of the technical blueprint in 2009, allowing Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate Button to waltz to his championship success. With Mercedes as engine makers, Brawn is well placed to conjure another trick.
Conversely, McLaren, who get their engines free from Mercedes as part of a long-term association, will have to pay for their supply from next year. That will put a strain on their budget.
End of the road: Michael Schumacher will announce his retirement from F1 for the second time
Mercedes have won one race this season to McLaren’s five but it is probable that Hamilton would extract more from even this existing car than the 43-year-old Schumacher and his team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton is close to Norbert Haug, Mercedes’ head of motor sport, who often acted as an avuncular supporter of the young Briton back when the German manufacturers were in full partnership with McLaren.
As for Schumacher, he has been a shadow of his formerly dominant self since coming out of his first retirement in 2010. He has managed just one podium, this year in Valencia.
McLaren are likely to turn their attention to Sauber’s Mexican Sergio Perez. Another conceivable contender is Scotland’s Paul di Resta, of Force India.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/for...#ixzz27jQrQGkT
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
09-28-2012, 02:08 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Wow.
09-28-2012, 06:21 AM
#4
King of Cool
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Also official is Perez to McLaren.
Holy ****, didn't see that coming either.
Great move for Perez, but not so much for Hamilton.
I really hope Kovalainen will go to Sauber, would be great move for both parties.
Good to see Schumi finally realizing its time to hang the gloves.
Holy ****, didn't see that coming either.
Great move for Perez, but not so much for Hamilton.
I really hope Kovalainen will go to Sauber, would be great move for both parties.
Good to see Schumi finally realizing its time to hang the gloves.
09-28-2012, 09:52 AM
#5
Drifting
We'll certainly see if it's the car or the driver that has prevented Hamilton from being the "Serial" champion as many predicted. Sometimes chamge is good for all parties involved.
09-28-2012, 09:53 AM
#7
Nordschleife Master
And I suppose the engine change for 2013 represents a significant change in the car design for the rear and may change the balance of the teams if one can exploit the package better than the others.
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09-28-2012, 10:00 AM
#8
On temporary vacation
IIRC believe the engine change to the turbos is in 2014.
I've been posting stuff about this move for weeks. Everyone said it didn't make sense, and to be honest, it is career suicide for Hamilton, but in the end, the stories didn't stop so there must have been something to them.
Hamilton has NEVER made good decisions on or off track --- nor has his management team. The short term gain from the money will never amount to the long term gain of being a multiple WDC.
As much as I don't like McLaren, I do respect their ability to build a race car. Mercedes Board of Directors are wishy washy in their commitment to being in the sport and I can't see them winning constructors or WDC.
The irony is that the McLaren has won the last 3 of 4 races and was leading that 4th race until a gearbox issue stopped Hamilton. The Mac will win more races this year and then Hamilton goes to a team that has won just 1 race in the past 3 years.
I've been posting stuff about this move for weeks. Everyone said it didn't make sense, and to be honest, it is career suicide for Hamilton, but in the end, the stories didn't stop so there must have been something to them.
Hamilton has NEVER made good decisions on or off track --- nor has his management team. The short term gain from the money will never amount to the long term gain of being a multiple WDC.
As much as I don't like McLaren, I do respect their ability to build a race car. Mercedes Board of Directors are wishy washy in their commitment to being in the sport and I can't see them winning constructors or WDC.
The irony is that the McLaren has won the last 3 of 4 races and was leading that 4th race until a gearbox issue stopped Hamilton. The Mac will win more races this year and then Hamilton goes to a team that has won just 1 race in the past 3 years.
09-29-2012, 01:56 PM
#11
Drifting
I'm with JET on this one... It was under Brawn that Button was made. It remains to be seen what the Hamilton/Brawn relationship will yield, but it is certainly an interesting mix... Sounds to me like the Hamilton/McLaren relationship had become toxic. Changing teams might have been his only choice.
09-29-2012, 02:02 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Seen this happen too many times with Star Athletes as well. They think they are bigger than the sport and life would remain the same if they left the sport. It's the sport that makes them who they are. No one is going to give a rats a$$ when Hamilton loses all the time. His management has him believing that he is bigger than the sport and there is so much earning potential. No wdc/no wins = No sponsorship.
Wonder how long his gf will be around when he is finishing out of top 3 consistently.
Wonder how long his gf will be around when he is finishing out of top 3 consistently.
09-29-2012, 02:04 PM
#13
Rennlist Member
I'm with JET on this one... It was under Brawn that Button was made. It remains to be seen what the Hamilton/Brawn relationship will yield, but it is certainly an interesting mix... Sounds to me like the Hamilton/McLaren relationship had become toxic. Changing teams might have been his only choice.
As always, every dog has his day. Brawn is done. He is a legend for what he did in Benetton and Ferrari but that was a perfect storm with full FIA backing. That will never happen again, which is actually good for the sport.
09-29-2012, 05:20 PM
#14
Pro
This is fun for us fans though - it gives a chance to reevaluate Hamilton, Button, Nico, Perez, Kobayashi, Mclaren, Mercedes (Brawn) and Sauber. At least. Sometimes you make decisions and you don't know how they will work out, if Hamilton wins the title in two years it will look like genius, if not, he'll still be stinking filthy rich.
09-29-2012, 11:02 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
I don't think he's an idiot at all, and I wouldn't be surprised to this partnership thrive. Life was clearly not all peachy for him at McLaren, and this could fit his style better.