How long before this comes true? http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/motorsport/2007/08/07/ferrari-in-hamilton-raid-89520-19581970/ Ferrari have been ordered to make a £17million swoop for grand prix sensation Lewis Hamilton. Overlords Fiat have told Ferrari bosses that they see the 22-year-old as the natural successor to Michael Schumacher, who retired at the end of last season. They believe he has the talent, will to win, personality and work ethic to lead them into a new era. Fiat are hoping their team can capitalise on the mayhem at McLaren to lure its biggest star into red overalls next season. And if not next year then as soon as possible. The deal would make Hamilton the second highestpaid driver in Grand Prix racing after just one dramatic season in the sport. He may be leading the world championship but he is earning just £250,000 as a rookie at McLaren and would become Britain's newest sporting millionaire if he stayed at Woking in 2008. But Ferrari are happy to blow that offer out of the water by making the Stevenage boy one of the world's highest-paid sportsmen. Ferrari's star turn, Kimi Raikkonen, would be the only driver on the grid earning more. He pockets £22m but Hamilton could top that. Felipe Massa and the 'Flying Finn' have proved they have superlative speed but are flawed. Massa has shown he is not in the same league as Hamilton or double champion Fernando Alonso when it comes to wheel-to-wheel racing. And although his Ferrari paymasters are philosophical about Raikkonen's hardliving lifestyle, the overlords at Fiat are less than impressed and see Hamilton as the cornerstone of a new era of Maranello domination. They want to replicate the era that ran to 2005 when they won five successive titles. McLaren have until the end of today to decide if they will lodge an appeal against being stripped of 15 constructors' championship points for the way Alonso sabotaged Hamilton's qualifying chances at the H ungaroring.
That article is flawed and I don't know how credible the source is. I can't see 17 million anything taking Lewis Hamilton away from McLaren.
McLaren have invested too much time into this kid to let him go. I don't think it will ever happen. Besides, he's still needs to prove himself, at this point he has the best, fastest and most reliable car on the track. Wheel to wheel, even though I don't like him, Alonso is better.
Not that I've seen. Alonso throws himself off the track when pushing too hard, even if he's right behind. That seems to rattle him for races at a time and once he's off the likely hood of him going off again that race increase 5 fold each time. Not rock steady by any method of calculation.
Deep breath, everybody....Ron Dennis has LH wrapped up tight as a Texas tick on a bull's balls on the 4th of July. He has about a decade and untold millions invested in Hamilton. The only way McLaren lets loose of him is if McLaren gets huge compensation in return. It could happen, but it would be very expensive for the acquiring team and if FIAT gets into a bidding war with MBz, my money would be on the Germans. Just my opinion, and worth about as much as you're paying to read it. (Fun to think about, though, ain't it?) Jack
When does his current contract with McLaren end? also, anyone knows if there was any other contract that was signed previously with Ron Dennis? Can't he come to Ferrari if he chose to as long as his contract with McLaren expires?
I think very few people know the details of his contract, but you can bet that Dennis will be extremely well compensated by any team that takes LH from McLaren. He has developed Hamilton for years and I'm sure that he will share in any of Hamilton's future earnings. It won't simply be a matter of renegotiating at the end of the contract (if an end to it even exists). And frankly, Dennis deserves it. He took a risk in developing Hamilton, and he had the vision to recognize Hamilton's talent at a very early stage in his career. He also had the wisdom to hold Hamilton back in GP2 for another year, which helped him immensely. Chances are that Lewis Hamilton wouldn't be where he is today without Ron Dennis. Regardless of what people may think of Ron Dennis, he's done a great job with Hamilton up to now. Jack.
