Lewis Hamilton

[Quiet One 15]

Schumi won't die. He will be taken alive by the light of Ross Brawn to sit at His Right Hand.

That, if Lewis actually moves to Merc. I'd rather get rid of Rosberg, the Anonymous, they sucked all his blood dry, but age matters, I guess. And the mechanics at Merc will feel happier knowing that they won't have to waste anymore crazy glue every other weekend when Michael comes back walking with nothing but a helmet in his arm, a sad smile and a "sorry guys".

[Massa 0]

It doesn't feel right for Schumacher's career to end like this. I hope he wins another race.

[Insider 0]

I think Brawn is clearing the way for a Lewis signing by saying Mercedes and Schumacher face a hard decision over their respective futures. At this stage of the game, we've reached a point where Mercedes clearly need LH and LH still clearly needs McLaren. I think he may have to part company with Fuller and XIX if he stays at Woking because that will leave them without the tools to enhance his career and they become surplus to his requirements. I'm pretty sure he's going to go for the money. He's a great driver but still a little too immature to make the smart play, [iMO] and go for glory.

[Guest]

This is the reason why Lewis MUST take the cash and go to Merc. because even if he matches Scumi's achievements over the coming years, one day he'll be booted out to make way for some quick kid. Pro sport is harsh.........make and take what you can, while you can!

[Quiet One 15]

I think Brawn is clearing the way for a Lewis signing by saying Mercedes and Schumacher face a hard decision over their respective futures. At this stage of the game, we've reached a point where Mercedes clearly need LH and LH still clearly needs McLaren. I think he may have to part company with Fuller and XIX if he stays at Woking because that will leave them without the tools to enhance his career and they become surplus to his requirements. I'm pretty sure he's going to go for the money. He's a great driver but still a little too immature to make the smart play, [iMO] and go for glory.

But the fact is he CHOSE XIX and Fuller. If he wanted the glory in F1 he would have gone after some serious F1 manager. Geez, even Flabbio would have been a smarter choice for someone purely in pursuit of making money and glory in F1.

He wants more than that. And McLaren can give him perhaps a championship but nothing else. And it isn't as if we are talking about the most successful team despite how menacing they always seem. This century they achieved how many WDCs and WCCs? Just 1 WDC and that was by a meager 1 point at the last corner against...Massa *cough cough* And it was Lewis who gave it to them.

Not sure Merc can do worse than that, at least they have the excuse of a weaker car, and in any case for someone who seems to enjoy being a teen idol quite as much as being a racer, I think Merc offers him a lot more than the spartan Woking team.

[Insider 0]

It seems clear from the press in general this morning that Lewis will join Mercedes next year in a $100m deal. Who will replace him? My guess would be Di Resta, Kimi or Perez though I would probably bring Magnussen on with Blomqvist as reserve. At 31, Gary Paffett can count himself as unlucky, having lived in Lewis's shadow for so long. Whoever it is, it will take them a year to find their feet but there is no doubt in my mind that Jenson will relish the challenge of leading the team and step up his game accordingly. McLaren need to give him the car to win in and regain their mojo on the reliability and strategy fronts to boot. After all, would he have moved without the shockers the team had on the wall and in the pits this year? Despite the mathematical connotations, expect Woking to throw everything behind JB now to shove him up the WDC rankings. Lewis takes his numbers with him and Ron won't be relishing that prospect at all. In fact, I dare say he's nothing short of livid!

[Insider 0]

It would appear Macca have signed Perez as I was tapping away.

[pabloh20 1]

It seems clear from the press in general this morning that Lewis will join Mercedes next year in a $100m deal. Who will replace him? My guess would be Di Resta, Kimi or Perez though I would probably bring Magnussen on with Blomqvist as reserve. At 31, Gary Paffett can count himself as unlucky, having lived in Lewis's shadow for so long. Whoever it is, it will take them a year to find their feet but there is no doubt in my mind that Jenson will relish the challenge of leading the team and step up his game accordingly. McLaren need to give him the car to win in and regain their mojo on the reliability and strategy fronts to boot. After all, would he have moved without the shockers the team had on the wall and in the pits this year? Despite the mathematical connotations, expect Woking to throw everything behind JB now to shove him up the WDC rankings. Lewis takes his numbers with him and Ron won't be relishing that prospect at all. In fact, I dare say he's nothing short of livid!

Unless they can shove JB all the way up to winning, then I don't think they are that bothered about the driver's standings at all. I suppose they may want JB to be above Lewis as a little 'told you so', but no more than that. They will still do all they can to get the constructor's title, though and to that end, they are not going to hamper Lewis. If Lewis were to get the driver's title because of that, then it would be a necessary evil to them, I would imagine.

[Quiet One 15]

One thing is certain: McLaren will save a ton on tires next year

[AleHop 0]

I just heard the news, it'll feel strange at first but it means Mercedes will stay in F1 so it's good news. Perez to McLaren is a surprise too but he's a good young driver and Telmex is a good asset too.

[pabloh20 1]

One thing is certain: McLaren will save a ton on tires next year

Indeed

[Quiet One 15]

I just heard the news, it'll feel strange at first but it means Mercedes will stay in F1 so it's good news. Perez to McLaren is a surprise too but he's a good young driver and Telmex is a good asset too.

Telmex and Vodafone? I think there will be a lot of behind the scene negotiations to set boundaries between those two.

I am hoping for a 2007 all over again, but replacing Lewis and Alonso by Jenson and Sergio...Somehow I don't think Hungary 2013 will be as entertaining....

[AleHop 0]

Telmex and Vodafone? I think there will be a lot of behind the scene negotiations to set boundaries between those two.

I am hoping for a 2007 all over again, but replacing Lewis and Alonso by Jenson and Sergio...Somehow I don't think Hungary 2013 will be as entertaining....

If rumours are true Telmex is going to spend 30 M$ sponsoring Perez/McLaren.

[Quiet One 15]

I can only imagine the 3 mile smile on Rubinho's face watching Schumi being unceremoniously pushed aside...

"Hey, Mikey, now you know!"

[freaky2 1]

I'm glad that Perez got the seat! Finally after, how many? years of speculation we got a move in the big teams and a worthy driver was selected for a top team. New blood vs Button, it's bound to be fun

About the tires, I guess we'll see if it was Sergio or the Sauber saving them xD

[LabradoRacer 2]

[LabradoRacer 2]

I don't really understand those who say Lewis betrayed McLaren. We change jobs, countries, partners for our benefit; get over it.

[Peeweev 0]

ps i think its time for Schummy to recieve this even if its not hammi who comes there

Perez and hammi swap?

SO i was almost right (one i was and half on the other = almost)

makes a first

[Insider 0]

Unless they can shove JB all the way up to winning, then I don't think they are that bothered about the driver's standings at all. I suppose they may want JB to be above Lewis as a little 'told you so', but no more than that. They will still do all they can to get the constructor's title, though and to that end, they are not going to hamper Lewis. If Lewis were to get the driver's title because of that, then it would be a necessary evil to them, I would imagine.

You'd be surprised how petty F1 teams can be. Though they will never admit it, they'll be aggrieved about this development.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

My personal feelings are that Lewis will go to Mercedes with Michael taking up another team role. This will put Di Resta, the Hulk, Perez, Kimi and even Massa in line for his seat at Macca.

U should tell us more about your personal feelings....

[F1 FANatic 1]

OK, I always ask myself this question when i see pictures like this: What does this idiot know of 1) Baseball, and 2) The colorodo Rockies. (by idiot I don't mean Lewis personally, I just mean some guy wearing a baseball cap with the bill in that stupid looking unbent half sideways pose, from a country that has zero baseball heratage)

I wonder if this is what went through his mind when he went to the hat store:

Let me find a hat from team playing a sport I know nothing about, but let's pick a team that isnt the Yankees because EVERYBODY buys a Yankees cap, no matter if thay even know who the Yankees are or even what a baseball bat looks like. Hey, this hat is cool, it's purple and has the initials CR on it. I have no clue who CR is, was he some famous baseball player? Oh, there are so many of them still left, the only two other hats that have more in the store are from C and some wierd star. They must have so many hats from these guys because they are sooooooo good people always want to buy them. Let's take the hat from the third best team then. People won't tell me I don't know anything then. And, it's not like I'll have a hat from the worst team, not like I WANT to be seen as hippster. What is hippster anyway. The americans always make fun of them.

And that Ladies and Gentlemen is how Lewis Hamilton ends up buying himself a Rockies hat, a team that was somehow beat by SAN DIEGO for god's sake(I am from San Diego and am a die hard Padres fan just FYI). Either that or he just stole the thing because in the picture he looks like nothing more than some low level hoodie on a CONAIR flight. I thought cellphones weren't allowed in prison. Then again, with that baby face you can probuably get anything you want in prison if you know how to use it.

/totally off topic rant

[Massa 0]

You know, months and months and months ago, Insider was the first one to suggest Hamilton/Brawn, before any media outlet. Now it happened.

I can't figure out the Colorado Rockies hat. He spent a lot of time in Las Vegas with Adrian Sutil when they were still friends. Doubt they were watching baseball (but maybe they were pitching and catching...gaah I shouldn't have gone in that direction).

Good opportunity for Pérez. Full confirmation now that Vettel is Ferrari's 2014 target, as if anyone needed more. Ferrari are about to get served a cold dish, I think, but then again, they invested very little in Pérez; they only signed him after he had a drive with Sauber. Telmex took him this far and helped him find his own *** (can we just talk about Skip Barber for a minute here... ), helped his brother hit a few people in the *** in stock cars, and now he has one of the top drives in the world. Moral of the story: Marco Andretti will never sleep again knowing he won the championship well clear of Pérez, who he probably never even noticed, and has accomplished nothing of interest in his career.

[Quiet One 15]

http://www.thef1times.com/news/display/06795

Was this also part of the plant or did somebody did just make some huge miscalculation?

[Massa 0]

I don't think the 2014 engine regulations really weighed on his mind at all. I'd be surprised if they did.

He went for money. Image is more important than results in making money, too, for the "but if he wins, he'll get endorsements" crowd.

He also went for money.

And then he went for money.

After that, he went for a change of scenery and to work with Ross Brawn and to comprehensively beat his teammate.

After all that, he remembered how he only actually one won title with McLaren and how McLaren haven't won a WCC in years and years. We can see McLaren more believably winning things than Mercedes, but McLaren hasn't. May as well try to mold Mercedes into something better because McLaren's not changing and for being arguably the best team on the grid they haven't delivered (no wonder the FedEx partnership ended a few years ago...talk about a marketing mismatch there).

There is nothing that conclusively convince anyone that someone's 2014 engine is going to be better than anyone else's. Lewis isn't that naïve.

And at the end of the day, he went for money. And he should have, so a huge pat on the back for Lewis from me! I hate that "going for money" inherently has a negative connotation. It shouldn't! Going for money is rational.

I wish Hamilton well at Mercedes because no one can convince me that it wouldn't be good to have both Mercedes and Hamilton giving it their all in the title fight next year. They're a good team and he's a good driver and as fans of the sport first, I think anyone would want to see them both reach their potential.

[Quiet One 15]

Nah.

We keep making the same mistake with each of these issues. We think too little of the people involved. I guess it's only natural as we see these "stories" and assume they're nothing but a bunch of blind characters and. like most stories, the characters know less than we do. Arguments like "X is stupid going to team Y, can't he see that Z is going to happen?"

Well, if WE can see it, then most probably they did. And a lot more that we CAN'T see as well.

If it was just about money, he would have signed with Merc ages ago, Why drag this for so long? I bet Merc made him a tempting offer ages ago and McLaren was never going to match it. That was clear since the beginning.

F1 people (even Lewis) have more complex personalities than we give them credit for. Not all decisions are based on binary choices.

Now, don't make me go there and slap you with a rubber chicken