McLaren and Lewis; divorce already agreed

[Willy]

Lewis would be foolish to leave Macca as they have a car that consistently runs at the sharp end of the grid.
Merc can't say that, at least since they started their own team.

If Lewis's management wants to make him a global brand they will need to find a way to market him in North America outside of F1.
I can't speak for the US, but in Canada there is only one magazine on the stands that covers F1 and that is from Britian and is well only available in limited places.
As was mentioned in other posts, most F1 drivers could walk the streets in North America and not be recognized. To make a driver a global brand, this will need to be changed and here it will have to be done with television as most North American households have at least two TVs.
Very rarely do I see a commercial with an F1 driver featured here. And unless you follow it, the average viewer will not know who the guy is.

[Scott]

Yeah, I don't see F1 having the same coverage as football (soccer), although any footballer (Beckham included) could walk the streets of Canada or the USA and not be recognized - except maybe Bay Street in Toronto (Trading Desks for our big banks), which is teaming with those thieving Brits 

Seriously, an F1 driver becoming a global brand?  What does that really mean anyhow, and why on earth would someone who has devoted their whole life to becoming an F1 driver, want to muck things up now that he's almost made it?   

Beckham still has useful talent.  I have never thought of Hamilton as even in the top three drivers in F1, and that is only at the moment.  The next moment, another will show up and show us how slow Lewis (and others) really were.  Perez could perhaps pilot a Mclaren?  Wow...I'm just sayin'   

[stealthhaggis]

Not having that, Beckham's been past it for a while, couldn't even trust him to drive a speedboat up the thames!

[John S]

I'm pretty sure it was Man United that really gave Beckham his global status, they are so well followed around the globe. Maybe Lewis' team, being new to the F1 game, is thinking that Merc has a similar global presence, they're wrong of course only Ferrari has antwhere near the reach of Man Utd.  

To me this increasingly likely move to Merc is more about income, both direct and from his own image rights, that's the big motivator for his management. From Lewis point of view it's the improvement that is starting to take place at Brackley with Merc team starting now to get up to the numbers of staff and budget of the other very top teams.

After Honda pull out Brawn was forced to cut the workforce and expenditure, sure they won the title but it was a car developed with Honda multi millions, even towards the middle of 09 Brawn was struggling to stay, or was probably not even in the development race, and no real development took place for the 2010 car either.

Now there are signs that Merc mean business and the car is starting to look better plus of course the new regs for 2014 throw everything wide open again, will Merc really give Macca all the up to the minute improvments as they happen in 2014 on the new turbo engine, - that's if they supply Macca at all?  

  

[lkjohnson1950]

According to the Guardian, McLaren is offering Lewis 11 million a year, about a 30% cut in salary. Hard economic times, don't ya know? Merc on the other hand is reportedly offering 60 million for 3 years. Plus much more freedom to negotiate side deals. Does that offset the difference in performance? Can Lewis provide the final key to Merc's competitiveness?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/sep/14/lewis-hamilton-mclaren-mercedes

[Scott]

Mclaren Renalt has a nice ring to it, so I don't think Mclaren needs to feel threatened if Merc try to grab back all their toys.  

I understand there is a rumour about Mclaren using Honda engines in 2014.  That could work out well.  

[Scott]

According to the Guardian, McLaren is offering Lewis 11 million a year, about a 30% cut in salary.

Lewis will soon find out that the performance is 9/10 the car.  He should be paying Mclaren for the opportunity to drive their car 

[stealthhaggis]

Heh, heh, Scott you are trying aren't you.

In truth Lewis is on his day probably one of the few drivers on the drig that can make a decent car look better than it is. He has proved it in the past. McLaren are going to lose the Merc engine deal and will have to pay however their cars are usually up there and have been since about 97.

This is a crucial time in Lewis career and I suppose he is right to look to get the best deal possible. At the moment there are only 3 teams a top driver should be looking to drive for, Ferrari, RB & McLaren. The next teir down is Merc, Lotus and probably then Williams, Sauber FI. Lewis should think long and hard as money is not as important as winning. McLaren may well have an appalling amount of DNF's, the highest percentage of any team I believe but they do know how to build a great car. Merc engines, Merc money might dry up as well if they fail to win and Lewis may well have missed his chance to get a drive at RB.

If it was me I would sign a deal for 1 year with an option for a 2nd and jump in a RB when Webber leaves. Or if I was going to take a gamble I'd go to Lotus as Reno know how to build a Turbo  and Lotus know how to build a great little car. Merc are big and corporate and exactly why big car Manufacturers fail to deliver IMO. Smart money is on staying put and getting on with it. Risk for the sake of money never goes well.

[cosworth151]

He should also have a care for how long Merc will last. If they don't start winning, and soon, I think they will go the way of Ford, Renault, BMW, Toyota and Honda.

[F1fanaticBD]

I have a feeling, that Lewis is being way too over confident about himself. As the history have shown, he is only good when the car is good, but yet to show the quality Alonso have been showing for years, to able to achieve the maximum from the car, and at times even more. Stay in the Mclaren with 2 year contact and one option, so that when either Alonso or Webber makes the exit, could jump onto them. Definitely agree with stealth as Mercedes being the 2nd tier team, and if they think bringing a driver will give them more chance of winning, this stereotypical philosophy will not do n good. I bet Mercedes will be gone before the turbos arrive

[Jericoke]

Mclaren Renalt has a nice ring to it, so I don't think Mclaren needs to feel threatened if Merc try to grab back all their toys.  

I understand there is a rumour about Mclaren using Honda engines in 2014.  That could work out well.  

I was under the impression McLaren was developing their own engine programme.  Am I thinking of just the road cars?

And if Mercedes isn't selling to McLaren, who are they selling to?

[cosworth151]

And if Mercedes isn't selling to McLaren, who are they selling to?

Force India/Sahara, if the team still has the money to pay for them. 

[Scott]

I'm with you all re: Merc.  If they aren't gone by '14, they should be.  Manu's should sell engines to teams (or trade for decals - whatever).  Teams should be run by individuals.

As for Lewis, I'm with BD - he only shines when the car does.

[lkjohnson1950]

Most people seem to think Merc is on the rise. This year's car is a big step forward from last year's. They, of course, could refuse to sell their engines to anyone else. McLaren's future is a bit in doubt engine wise. Yes, they will probably use Merc's, but I haven't seen anything about signed contracts yet. I think Lewis' belief in his abilities make him a bit too aggressive at times. This is where Alonso has an edge, he can take what the car can give and not over drive it trying to get something extra. I don't think the F2012 was ever as bad as most people thought, but Alonso has had help from the weather at several races; he has proven the true regenmeister on the grid. It would be interesting to see if Lewis could take Merc into the top echelon. So by going to Merc Lewis gets more money, more freedom, and a chance to prove he is a good enough driver to make a difference.

[Scott]

So by going to Merc Lewis gets more money, more freedom, and a chance to prove he is a good enough driver to make a difference.

I'm just not a gambling man...if he has one of the most powerful teams in F1 behind him, giving him year after year what is arguably the best machinery on the grid, why look elsewhere.  If the answer is really just money and fame, then he's not the driver I thought he was.  Merc could be a very big fail.