GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: John S on September 11, 2012, 01:22:32 PM
-
If demeanour after Monza victory is a guide, says James Allen. :swoon:
So is the dirty deed really done :o - but no one wants to speak up, or is it still in the hands of the wily old master - one Michael Schumacher? The suggestion by pundits earlier in the season was that Schumi had an option and it was up to him and not the team to decide if he was staying. :confused:
Could it be that we will get both Lewis and Schumi in the Merc line up next season with Nico either farmed out to another team, Mclaren for instance - or even sidelined. :swoon:
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/09/hamilton-set-to-move-to-mercedes/
-
So the 'All British' and 'All German' teams could both break up at the same time?
-
They'll fight over Lewis and Ferrari will pay Perez big bucks, and Sauber will pull another gem out of the rough ;)
-
Cements my opinion of Lewis being not the sharpest tool in the shed. Mercedes has had 3 years to produce a competitive car and though they have won a race this year, the car is not really a front line car. Lewis will be fortunate to win a race next year, whereas Macca is at the front pretty much year in and year out. :fool:
-
It's all about the money and the fame for Lewis and his people IMO. Mercedes is a worldwide brand that can pay the bucks and give him the exposure he craves. Outside F1 McLaren can't be considered a blue chip brand.
After Sunday I hope your right about Perez Scott. :good:
-
Any driver will jump on the prospect of driving a McLaren, while Lewis will be loosing all he has gained over the years in Mercedes, where the only good thing is Ross Brawn. Other than that, the team who constantly threatens to quits, questions every now and they whether they should be here or not, and I am pretty sure if any difficulties of financial system, this team will be the first to fold, like BMW.
Given the pace McLaren has shown specifically in the last three races, it will be egoistic foolishness from Lewis to leave this team. It will Lewis who will be the looser, while McLaren will always get the better drivers. If you I have to pick I would pick Sergio Perez over Nico, as Perez have shown the maturity in a young shoulder, in the last race in Monza, and his ability to drive given the machinery.
I would love to see Perez in the scarlet team, but I would like to have him in the place of Alonso, not as his sidekick. Alonso is the best thing that have happened to Ferrari for years.
-
Hmmm, the Blick this morning ran a story suggesting Perez is on his way to Mclaren, not Ferrari. Is Sauber tired of being Ferrari's #€%ch? Maybe Ferrari are taking their sweet time figuring out what is happening with Massa next year, or perhaps Alonso doesn't want the Mexican filling his mirrors?
Or perhaps the story is a load of BS. ;)
-
I am prepared to be proved wrong (it happens a lot!) but I think Hamilton will be at McLaren next year.
The main problem relates to the idiotic management team he has set himself up with. They want him to be another Beckham - a world brand. They think McLaren is too British.
The difference is that Beckham was involved in a sport that already had worldwide interest from a completely different demographic; soccer fans!
I really hope that Lewis makes the final decision and goes for a team where he can win races and titles. In my opinion that is still McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull.
I believe that the grey suits at Mercedes will never allow Ross Brawn enough freedom to make a car that can beat these three teams.
-
One of the reasons Lewis is said to have for moving is that he would be free to market himself ala Beckham, since Mercedes doesn't have as many sponsor commitments. He would be free to make side deals, and since he is generally a likeable sort, he would probably do quite well. I think his ego is telling him he is good enough to win with the Merc even if MS and Rosberg haven't.
-
I think his ego is telling him he is good enough to win with the Merc even if MS and Rosberg haven't.
I have a feeling you're right Lonny. Wait until reality sets in and he finds Mclaren gave him as good a car as he is likely to get in F1.
-
I think his ego is telling him he is good enough to win with the Merc even if MS and Rosberg haven't.
I have a feeling you're right Lonny. Wait until reality sets in and he finds Mclaren gave him as good a car as he is likely to get in F1.
Apart from all that Lewis is a racer and gets the most out of a car as you are all aware it changes from year to year and the biggest change is coming.
TURBO's>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>-----------
-
Even if the changes the present, I would expect McLaren to get the better of the Turbos.. If history is anywhere relevant, McLaren had the best turbos in the late 80's, though they were powered by Mugen Honda.
If Lewis think he has the potential of Beckham, he will be very much wrong. Getting yourself a pop-diva as your GF is the easiest part Lewis. Ayrton Senna, Micheal Schumacher has proved before that you can become a world known face from F1, but that is not being done by a management company, rather on sheer success of F1. Given form you are showing for the last few races, if you can carry it for a few years, you wll be there. And your best chance is McLaren, no other, he have to understand that..
I can talk all day, but if Lewis decides to suicide what can I do.. :DntKnw:
-
I do wonder how much previous issues have been leading to this?
I'll answer my own question, very little, stupidly its all about money!
-
Asfar as being known in the USA I'd be willing to bet
Michael or any other fellow F1 driver could walk
any street here and only very few would recognize them
-
Very True! :good:
-
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.
-
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' :DntKnw:
-
Not having that, Beckham's been past it for a while, couldn't even trust him to drive a speedboat up the thames!
-
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, :DntKnw: - that's if they supply Macca at all? ;)
-
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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/sep/14/lewis-hamilton-mclaren-mercedes)
-
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.
-
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 :P
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
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?
-
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. ;)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
From Lewis' point of view, he might think he's been the difference for McLaren this year. After all, he has more points than Jenson, he's beat him far more often than Jens has beat him. Jenson really lost his way for several races and they admit got back on track by adopting Lewis' set up. Put the less experienced Perez in that seat and where is McLaren this year?
-
Put the less experienced Perez in that seat and where is McLaren this year?
Err, make those podium finishes into wins.. :D
But I agree with you that Hamilton has been really composed, except for that race in the Spa, he has been really good. And because of some unlucky issues, he is lagging behind Alonso..
-
Anyone else see the ice forming between Lewis's body language after the Q and Whitmarsh's words?
If Lewis really wants to be a Global 'Brand', someone on that management team should start with a bit of personality consulting. The pout won't sell much of anything.