The Lewis decision...

Right now it looks like the better place to be at MB than McLaren.

Maybe that will change if MB keeps going backwards and McLaren figure out their car.

As for Honda: I trust MB will have a great turbo. Besides: Hami can always leave

 

Yep, agreed; Lewis has always suggested that he could consider a return to McLaren in the future. All he has to do, then, is drive flat out his MB in 2013, 2014 and 2015. And watch out how the things are settling in at McLaren-Honda in 2015, and if promising, then end 2015 he can return. He will be 30 years old at this time, so he will still have a few years left. No biggie.

 

He's got more points than both Mclaren's together, so for now it's a good choice.

However, Mclaren has always done fairly well recovering their car. Mercedes has done the complete opposite.

Next year is make of break for Mercedes (has been said for a few years now). With all their engineers they should produce a world class car. If they can't manage to challenge for the WDC next year I bet there will be lots of anger in that team, from all sides. Drivers, share holders (they weren't happy any how), daimler and with 3-4-5-6 (how many is it?) teambosses, we'll be looking at a very entertaining mercedes-falling-apart soap.

Can Hamilton leave at any one point? I'm sure he could...with a heavy fine I would think (Button anyone?). And where would he go? No way Vettel would take him at Red Bull. Ferrari I don't think. Does he want to go back to Mclaren?

I think Mclaren in the end would be his only option. And I'm sure he's going to be back there at one point.

 

Exactly. I wouldn't be surprised if the points reverse by the end of the season. We'll see.

Hey, that's my mantra!

I like MB and would love to see them succeed but right now they look very much like Toyota did. Tons of resources squandered on a midfield car. As it stands right now, I wouldn't be surprised if soon we'll hear (once again) that "this year is just a test year and we are now focusing on next year's car". If the rule changes in 2014 don't bring the turn around, then I can't see them hang on for much longer.

PS: Regarding the Hami question: Lets not forget that his MB time will leave him very rich.

 

I fell for the Mercedes ''illusion''. I thought with Schumacher, all their engineers, 2 years in F1 and then special suspensions and cool aero trickery they where sure to be somewhere on the map and at least regularly content for podiums and the occasional wins. I fell for their trick and now that Schumacher has left I have no reason to support them.

Yes Hamilton will be pretty damn loaded indeed, but if I was in his shoes I'd rather take a third of that pay and actually be in a competitive car and win another championship or 2...Especially as Hamilton continually rambles on about wanting to be remembered like Senna. He's immensely talented but if he won't win another WDC the only thing he'll be remembered as is another Villeneuve either (not the good one either). For someone that puts so much on his need to be remembered, I question his move so far. But we shall see.

Unquestionably this 1 WDC comment of mine will attract a comment regarding Kimi: I don't think Kimi has ever said about wanting to be remembered. If he's remembered for anything at all it's going to be about bringing the 70/80s attitude back to F1 .

 

I mainly agree with you Bas; but even if Lewis was prepared to accept less money for a competitive car, which one could that be? I mean, I think that the boy did indeed review his options before taking his decision: and the Red Bull was not possible, nor was the Ferrari; and it so happen that, having stayed at McLaren would not have been the better option as for competitivity either.
So well, yes he may want to be remembered as a "new Senna" of some sort, and even if he'd be prepared to drive for no money at all, as Senna said in his days when he wanted that Williams drive so bad, our Lewis still has to find that competitive car to enter the path to Glory...

And as for Kimi, I have zero worries at all; and he will be remembered. Leave him alone, he knows what he is doing.

Rgds

 

IMO he should've stayed with Mclaren. The pay difference was only a few million and Mclaren simply have a better chance of winning. Even when Mclaren is doing bad, they're still almost always scoring points and later on in the season, podiums and even wins.

Mercedes, despite having a fairly short time in F1 (but looking at the team they took over), when they're doing bad...it's catastrophic.

 

I must say I was rather (mildly) surprised to see Lewis leave McLaren last year; I was convinced that he would stay with McLaren, but perhaps this is part of a maturing process, and this was inevitable: the boy had to sever his ties with the family just to grow up (perhaps he was tired of Ron Dennis, just as Kimi was in his day?).
I often wonder about Vettel in the same way; will he ever leave R.B one day? I'm under the impression that unless he decide to do that one day, there will always be a lingering doubt about how great he really is?

 

LH made the right call for himself. He is happy. No question his decision was a good one.

 

Agreed; even if I have understood that he was a bit flabbergasted about his tyre-eating monster at the end of the spanish G.P...

 

Moving to MB appears to be the right decision based on the points tally so far.

 

This is the kind of talk that makes a guy wonder if there's any 'there' in Lewis' head. Add the "I'm a risk taker' comment......it just smacks of immaturity and lack of understanding where he fits in the F1 universe. Does he think his competitors are in F1 for the security and safety?

His move is good.........the protective bubble of McLaren wouldn't allow him to move forward from the talk above. Now he has a chance.

 

I'd say he's more likely to be remembered as a Mansell.

For what it's worth, I still think the move to Mercedes was an epic mistake, but I love it since it secures McLaren's irrelevance for a few more years.

 

Fixed it for ya!

Comments like that just leave me speechless:
Vettel drove for two different teams before he joined RB. Here are the records he set in that period:

- Youngest driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting
- Youngest driver to set fastest time in an official Grand Prix session
- Youngest driver to score points in Formula One
- Youngest race leader in Formula One, for at least one lap
- Youngest Grand Prix pole position winner
- Youngest driver to score a podium position in Formula One
- Youngest Grand Prix winner
- Youngest driver to score a double (pole position and race win)

 

+1

Red Bull will be nothing once Newey calls it a career. Even now, they are not nearly as dominant as they used to be and who knows what could happen once the new engines arrive.

Sebastian will be in red eventually. I remember when Alonso constantly made disparaging comments about Ferrari and Schumacher during his tenure with Renault, but deep down he knew they were/are the ultimate team and as he got older it's clear he wanted to be part of that Ferrari legend.

 

Well, I know of all of this, of course; and I remember Monza 2008 very well, that didn't left my mind. And I am a Vettel fan, so don't get me misunderstood!
Nevertheless, I still believe that the ultimate test is still there to be done, and that it will actually benefit his stature immensely if he could win at the wheel of a McLaren, for instance.

Rgds

 

Hamilton will NEVER be as well regarded as Mansell. No matter what his future brings

 

He already is.

 

+1

I'm no fan of either of 'em, but for sure there's no question that MerHam is already far and away ahead of the whining Mansell.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Alonso, Lewis, Vettel are the top drivers on the grid now, in that order (Rosberg is in there somewhere but he needs to bag a title first, and it would be even more amazing if he bagged a title from Lewis).

Being the 'youngest' to do something isn't really a record IMO, it just means a person was young when they did it, how they mature into whatever it is that they're doing is a different matter entirely. The common scenario is the prodigous young pianist or violinist who has remarkable technique at an early age but fails to mature further as time progresses, in other words they plateau. I'm interesting in 'the best', period, at any age. Not 'the best 22 year old'. Yes, age is interesting but it is no guarantee to yield greatness.

 

Lets revisit this in 20 years

 

Not sure I would go that far. I'd say that "right now" he is regarded about equally. Obviously, he has the potential to greatly surpass Nigel.