All these changes...

I'm happy with the changes. LH has made a big mistake to move but only time will tell, in the mean time he'll get rich.

Ferrari only needs to replace Massa and it will all be good.

 

it would even be better if they replaced Alonso as well , let perez mature a bit, and if he is really good team him up with Vettel....

 

I believe you meant richer, but spot on with the mistake part. Lewis is a fool.

 

You're right... way richer. Just shows he's been getting bad advice from his management who are naturally going for the cash.

 

I agree, His managment may be good at promoting his name and making money out of it but it sucks at helping him get results.

 

It's Hollywood management, make the most money by whatever means necessary. The character and individual have nothing to do with it as long as it makes money.

Unfortunately pop singers need no talent and therefore have to take these options for their millions, Lewis is the opposite. How would a pop star manager be able to guide someone with the sheer talent and abilities as Lewis?

 

Please, hard to fathom LH's move. Sure money, but at McLaren he had a chance at another WDC. At MB.......not so much.

Other than money, can anyone think of the reason? Or did LH burn his bridges so badly, no other choice?

But wait was it money? McLaren said they would match MB's offer. Sure, more freedom with other personal sponsors, but if LH is not winning, so what?

 

I can't believe you're all so quick to write off Brawn and his crew. It was only a couple of years ago that his car was the best on the grid!

and before that with Ferrari

and before that with benetton.

 

+1 Write 'em off at your peril!

Yes, they now have "corporate overlords", but even they're no dummies, or they wouldn't be overlords....

[Devils advocate] Maybe both Nico & the Schu suck, and the car is actually a world beater. [/devils advocate]

There's certainly no argument that they now have one of the quickest drivers on the grid, so that "excuse" is now moot. Interesting times indeed.

Cheers,
Ian

 

I don't EVER see this happening. You can't have two alpha males on the same team...it's a disastrous concept because both of them want to be WDC. Senna/Prost, Alonso/Hamilton, Hamilton/Button, etc don't work because you cannot have two WDC-quality drivers competing against each other on the same team. It makes for an awful dynamic.

None of the 6 (5?) WDC's on the grid should be driving for the same team. I guarantee you that Fernando will make this clear to Ferrari. Look for Vettel to come on board in 2016 after Alonso has retired.

 

So instead of Vettel, you add a more aloof but very fast driver...........aka Kimi.

 

Would be a genius move from a marketing standpoint, but I don't see Luca (or Fernando) going along with this. Luca's ego won't allow him to accept MS back after forcing him out, and I don't think FA would want Michael there due to his popularity. While FA would absolutely be the #1 driver, Michael would probably be the more popular one.

Only Bernie and the fans would win with this line-up...and television ratings...and team merchandising...you get the point.

 

bingo .. it was all about the $$ .. more so for his agents .. who cudn't give a toss about the WDC .. it's all about marketability & personal sponsorships.

I think that was the biggest part of it .. arguably F1's biggest audience is in the UK. whether LH is winning or not, his marketability is assured.

RB won championships at Ferrari becoz he had the best driver, best team & biggest budget behind him. When his team won in 2009 it was becoz he read the rule book better than anyone and built a championship lead big enuf that noone cud catch him even when their car's development did. I doubt that luxury exists any more.

Please Luca .. for old times sake!

 

I think there are more questions associated with the recent changes in the F1 landscape.

1) What will happen to McLaren and Mercedes relationship ? Now that Mercedes has their own ace to complete their team, they have no need to partner with McLaren. Much like the Senna-Honda relationship in the 80's. When Senna took Honda with him to McLaren, Honda has no need to field Williams with their engines as they are now the most threatening rival. Does this also open the doors to McLaren finding another engine partner ? With the new and upcoming Turbo era set to begin, will we be seeing McLaren-Honda cars on the grid once again ?

2) Is Hamilton in way over his head with his switch to Mercedes ? His early success in F1 are IMO, owes plenty to team McLaren. J. Villenvue did the same thing back in the 90's after his early sucess with Williams, signing with BAR, thinking that HE is the difference. Much like Villenvue, Hamilton was in some ways, untested and unproven. Meaning they never had to come up the ranks by driving for the 2nd or 3rd tier teams with inferior equipments. We will now see if he truely should be mentioned in the same breath as Alonso & Vettel as the great drivers in the post-Schumacher F1 era.

 

Agree to point #1...I think Mercedes moving away from McLaren (potentially) is an element. It remains to be seen if Hamilton's move is Schumacher from Benneton to Ferrari or Villeneuve's Williams to BAR. I will probably side more with the Schu's move angle simply because a) Merc is a factory team and b) both moves involved Ross Brawn.

Disagree with point #2. While people still want to dismiss Hamilton's performance vs Alonso in the same car, I don't think you can. Neither can you dismiss Alonso's own opinion of Hamilton (i.e. that "he's the only driver in F1 who can win the WDC in an inferior car")(certainly he wasn't including himself in that statement though). I don't think a driver MUST drive for a sucky team if he is able to compete at the highest level with an established one. Hekki Kovalainen did not perform nearly the same way as Hamilton when he went to McLaren.

I think Hamilton/Alonso/Vettel (in no particular order) are the class of the grid right now.

 

too much of a corporate structure at Mercedes for them ever to succeed in WCC