Paddy Lowe to leave McLaren for Mercedes later this year - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com Can't beat'em? Buy'em!!! LOL
MB is making sure that a once fit and agile team becomes one bloated dinosaur. Best way to cement their 5th spot in the WCC.
+1 They now (or will) have *three* bona-fide team principals on board! Plus Wolff, Lauda and who the hell knows who else! Ross is saying it's all good as long at they all have well defined roles, but how many roles can there be?.... Cheers, Ian
Well, he's leaving McLaren for sure, but no one (besides "sources") has confirmed his destination is Mercedes. Unless he has a contract to replace Brawn, I wouldn't think it would be his best choice. Williams, for example, needs a Team Principal... And doesn't have 4 other ex-drivers and engineers on staff who all want that same title!
If that were the case then the Autosport headline would have to read, "Lowe leaving Mclaren". He's going to Mercedes.
I was thinking about how to respond to this and even considering not responding, but this is just too sweet a situation not to! Mercedes will be the new early 2000s vintage Ferrari. Think Brawn/Schu/Todt/Byrne all over again. Mark my words and hold me to it later. It's coming. All this 'staff' and 'cooks in the kitchen' incendiary rhetoric will be moot as Brawn's legacy will be re-writing how F1 competes with this one. Mercedes will be the big one and the new normal will be staff like Mercedes.
All the chips are now on the table. If they are still unable to leave a lasting impression in the game now, well, we can all say auf wiedersehen to MB for good.
Well personally I am glad to see they are giving it a good go, instead of some half baked attempt. The only danger I can see is too many cooks spoiling the broth, hopefully they realize this can happen and have it sorted.
This will go right. As I've said many times before, can anyone imagine a more exciting sounding season if Ferrari and Mercedes were the top two contenders? This is not a 'racing only' team like Mclaren or Lotus, or a drinks company, airline, sublet company after advertising space, hair dryer manufacturer, hair product company, candy bar company, you name it. No, this would be two legandary auto manufacturers with dirt under their nails from way back. I give respect to Ferrari for being around as long as they have and doing all they have done first though for sure, but it takes guts for Mercedes to get back in the ring. Gives me chills
Right, another "sources say" article, and Niki Lauda of Mercedes saying "nothing official, he's leaving McLaren but we're not announcing anything." So far, nobody in any official standing has announced Lowe's new employer for 2014, the only official announcement has been that he's leaving McLaren. News headlines to the contrary notwithstanding, since the content tells a different story. He could well be going to Mercedes, all I'm saying is that it hasn't actually been announced or confirmed yet.
By when? Just because they have the largest collection of big names on their payroll now doesn't mean it'll all be roses behind the scenes. I can see some big ego's clashing. If there's no harmony it'll be Prost/Senna and Hamilton/Alonso all over again. This means that Mclaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Lotus will all be underdogs (according to your predictions). Plenty of teams to support then .
No one should find any of this movement odd as it was Mclaren themselves last week who stated teams are in survival mode and cash is tight (at least Mclaren's must be). Mclaren probably made a take it or leave it offer and Mercedes' offer happened to new greater.
Too many chefs in the kitchen never ends well, especially one that is so top-heavy. I'm waiting for this team to implode.
I love it when car manufacturers have the gutts to compete. Agreed with you on that. But: Ever heard of the superband Asia? Image Unavailable, Please Login
I get it, I do. Unlike superband, this team employs some 500+ employees and they have some half dozen very well known people and I am sure they all have their own team of people to manage. These are all sharp people who above all else are engineers working towards an end-game, for whatever reason I cannot see these guys stepping on one another's toes like surgeons, who pretty much hate anyone and everyone (so it seems at times!) except themselves. If anything, this would be the biggest let-down in motorsports history if they fail to produce with such a roster.
Tis true, you can throw heaps and heaps of cash at it, but that does not mean you will win it, and I like that fact. Toyota was the proof of that.
