Lewis Hamilton confirmed at McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton will be partnering Fernando Alonso at McLaren, according to Autosport.com

let´s see what he can do. We have some examples of young hopefulls, immensely succesful in lower formula, not cutting it in F1 (Jan Magnussen, Antonio Pizzonia, to name a few).

 

Indeed, the future will tell... he already has a nice record but Formula One is a serious step forward...
Pedro De La Rossa, reverted to test driver again, obviously was a bit dissapointed after this decision...

I still think McLaren is facing a very difficult year...



Go F. Massa! My favourite driver for the 2007 season!

 

Good to hear, I think he’ll be up to the job. Going in at the deep end though for your first season, against Alonso.

 

against Alonso probably isn't as tough as trying to work with Alonso.

Remember how much appreciation Fisi got for tanking his own race to stay out of the back of Alonso?

 

You know, there was a little piece of me that was hoping/dreaming that this news would have been about Mika Häkkinen.... Oh well, maybe better like this. A new card, it will be interesting.

 

Deep down, i knew it will be Lewis and no one else. thats the best option for Mclaren. Mika coming back is nonsense. PDR? he's pretty inconsistent. so, Lewis is the best call.

having said that, it's a bit too early to say how he'll perform, plus, don't forget the fact that he's partnering a world champion. so lets just wait and see.

 

Yes. We have to welcome that with caution. F1 is a different ball game altogether.
I also suppose that there are financial considerations in that deal. Ron Dennis (and Mercedes-Benz apparently) has been backing him up for the last 9 years (?), and probably manages him, which means that his retainer must be low.
2007 will be a make or break year for Hamilton.

 

It's a great but complicated opportunity for Hamilton. Coming to F1 with limited testing experiences is apparently a tough challenge. Even Alonso spent a good time testing and doing laps with Minardi.

I'm not too optimistic on Hamilton's racing performance...

 

I don´t think 2007 will be make or break for him. He will have a valid excuse when and if he gets beaten by Alonso. He is a rookie against a two time worldchampion. Of course Hamilton is chosen since he is expected to be succesful. All expectations are mostly based on his performance in lower classes. History shows that this performance is no guarantee for F1success.

I believe that if Hamilton doesn´t deliver in 2007, he will get a chance in 2008, but if that doesn´t work out, he will fall from a great height.

I however expect Hamilton to do well. He seems like an intelligent guy. He certainly isn´t rushed into Formula 1 and he seems able to adapt himself pretty good to high pressure environments. In fact, I think he will beat Alonso on a psychological level.

 

If he doesn't do too well in 2007, I wouldn't be surprised if they 'farm him out' to another lower team the following year. McLaren needs 2 competitive drivers.
That's what Frank Williams did with Jenson Button; after 1 mediocre season, he was lent to Renault where he didn't do better, but at least learnt his trade in a team that was on the way up then.

 

ain't that the truth!!

 

Should be interesting to see what happens with the Lewis kid. IMO, he should have been brought in to F1 by a smaller team. Let's see how well he can manage the first season.

 

But did Mclaren not school him from a young boy? Meaning that they have invested both time and cash in to him.
What you are saying is like a football team (English football) were they train the child in junior football and picking him to play football for the under 21 nationals for his country. And then insisting he goes to another lesser team for over 21 profesional games.

 

Excellent post, right on target. I hope Hamilton does great, it will be nice to see a driver that developed at such a young age grow into an F1 Pilot.

 

I have a feeling like he is going to get crushed.

 

And that conclusion is based on......what?

 

Because Alonso is a two time WDC in the prime of his career and the talents given by the GP2 series haven't shown themselves to be awesome. Lewis Hamilton would probably need the best year ever shown by a rookie (including JV's rookie year) to match up with Alonso.

 

Damn, I think PDR earned it.

 

Oh so its based on his team mate being the WDC then. I thought you were saying that F1 would crush him. I would have thought it was a little obvious that Alonso would beat him in his first F1 season, dont take much working out then.

 

well, many of us thought MS will crush FM this season. in a way he did, but FM did win 2 races this season, even tho his teammate was a 7 time champion.

 

true, very true. Anything can happen. And i loved the "Rocky" film

 

FM had actually shown decent speed before though.