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Old 09-06-2012, 03:27 AM   #21
WapSaibian

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Hamilton's management company have publicly denied this story has any truth.

'Hamilton to Mercedes' reports denied | Mercedes GP Petronas F1 News | Formula 1 Teams | Sky Sports

Sorry to quote a scummy source.
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Old 09-06-2012, 04:12 AM   #22
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Yeah I doubt they would place him there. They would be pretty gutted losing Lewis and replacing him with Di Resta. That reminds me of 1994 where McLaren lost Senna to Williams and gained Brundle lol.
Yeah.

I like Brundle and he was a good driver, but its different gravy when compared to Senna. Lol

I know McLaren are set to lose Mercedes engines in the coming years which is a factor to consider.

Lewis was a member of the Mercedes young driver program and they funded his career through McLaren so he has history with both teams on a business level.
Interesting point on his link with Mercedes. Forgotten that.

Also when do the radical rules completely change F1? Is it now 2014?

This could see F1 completely turned around. Teams made fade away and others may step up as well as the field potentially being spread apart again like 10 years ago.

Whatever we could see a few major moves for next season so the teams have settled lineups going into the upheaval of 2014.
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Old 09-06-2012, 04:48 AM   #23
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Quite frankly, i'm ready to see him in an uncompetitive car. See what he's really made of. How will he fare?
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Old 09-06-2012, 03:27 PM   #24
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How long does the Macs have Merc engines for?

Lewis with Ross Brawn could be interesting.

Guess we have to wait and see/
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Old 09-06-2012, 04:36 PM   #25
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Quite frankly, i'm ready to see him in an uncompetitive car. See what he's really made of. How will he fare?
He had that with McLaren already and still won a fantastic race in Hungary. That Mac was an absolute dog.
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Old 09-06-2012, 04:58 PM   #26
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You make a good point, remember McLaren use Mercedes engines after all.
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Old 09-06-2012, 05:13 PM   #27
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How long does the Macs have Merc engines for?
It's now to 2015 I believe, but quite possible they could continue as a Mercedes customer after that.
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Old 09-06-2012, 06:39 PM   #28
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You make a good point, remember McLaren use Mercedes engines after all.
Thanks
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Old 09-06-2012, 06:51 PM   #29
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I've talked about this as a logical possibility before, even though the only thing I share with Eddie Jordan is nationality. The fact is that it is Mercedes who are desperate to have a top driver. Mercedes is an enormous brand, far bigger than McLaren, and they need to either start winning in F1 or cut their losses.

The big thing they are missing is a driver who will definitely win if the car can win. Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus all have a driver who will deliver. Rosberg and Schumacher are both brilliant, but for different reasons they're not at the same level as the top level drivers in F1 at the moment. Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Vettel, Webber or Kimi could all do better than either of those two in the current Mercedes, at least that's how it looks.

Hamilton seems to have decided that whatever happens this year, if he doesn't win the WDC it won't be because of his driving or past brain fades. Ferrari and Red Bull both see him as too much trouble, justifiably or not. He's clearly not 100% happy at McLaren. He should sign with Mercedes for a huge sum of money, to ensure that they build the team around him succeeding. If it doesn't work out McLaren will take him back, or someone else will take him by then.

I think he needs to trust his talent, make a change and move on.
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Old 09-06-2012, 07:06 PM   #30
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Mercedes is an enormous brand,
I agree, and a brand that they want to protect.

With Rosberg and Schumacher (especially Schumacher) they have two decently quick drivers who are extremely polished OUTSIDE the car and make great ambassadors for the team and the brand.

Of the two McLaren drivers Jenson would be the most similar to what they want.

Unfortunately I don't think Lewis' brand fits in with Mercedes. Outside the car some of his behaviour has been erratic with the Twittergate episode merely being the latest and he has a blingy entourage. I don't think either of those characteristics fit with the Mercedes brand.

Will Mercedes care about this aspect? Since I believe that they persisted with Schumacher mainly because of his publicity assets I suspect the answer is yes.

Would Lewis want to go to Mercedes when he's on the cusp of a deal with McLaren? He's probably looking at two factors, car competitiveness and pay. Mercedes cannot compete with McLaren when it comes to competitiveness so if he's tempted to switch to Brackley its probably pay. Given that Mercedes have only just upped their budget to the RRA limits I don't think they'd be interested in offering Lewis the kind of pay he'd need to tempt him away from Woking.
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Old 09-06-2012, 07:11 PM   #31
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Unfortunately I don't think Lewis' brand fits in with Mercedes. Outside the car some of his behaviour has been erratic with the Twittergate episode merely being the latest and he has a blingy entourage. I don't think either of those characteristics fit with the Mercedes brand.
Lewis drives a Mercedes powered car and still does Mercedes PR events so not sure I agree he doesn't fit the brand. He's already a face of their brand and has been since his days in the Mercedes Young Driver Development program. He can be a bit of a tool in front of the media at times, but I doubt Merc are worried this would put people off buying their cars. If people don't buy cars based on a racing drivers interview etiquette, then I think the issues lie a lot deeper than product perception.
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Old 09-06-2012, 07:17 PM   #32
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Lewis drives a Mercedes powered car and still does Mercedes PR events so not sure I agree he doesn't fit the brand. He's already a face of their brand and has been since his days in the Mercedes Young Driver Development program. He can be a bit of a tool in front of the media at times, but I doubt Merc are worried this would put people off buying their cars. If people don't buy cars based on a racing drivers interview etiquette, then I think the issues lie a lot deeper than product perception.
Lewis has changed over the years though. When he first started in F1 with Mercedes backing I thought he was very good with the press but since 2008 and the first batch of criticism as well as the parting of ways with his father he's been behaving increasingly oddly in the public eye.

Although I agree that a driver's personality won't have a big impact on brand image selecting the right driver is one of the few ways a company like Mercedes can manipulate its own image projection. Why else would you take the risk and hire a 40 year old who hadn't driven in F1 for a few years?

Also there are quite a few drivers out there who have been sensible enough to maintain a squeaky clean public image whilst proving fast and probably a lot cheaper than Lewis (the FI boys for a start).
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Old 09-06-2012, 07:26 PM   #33
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I get the impression Mercedes are trying to change their image, to appeal to a younger, cooler crowd. Hamilton fits in well with this, especially if he wins. And he will win if the car can. There are very few drivers in that category at any one time in F1.
McLaren are a better team, but they also have a history of messing themselves up. What's the worst that can happen to Lewis if he switches teams? A season or two in the doldrums? They have get-out clauses to solve that sort of thing.
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Old 09-06-2012, 08:47 PM   #34
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Unfortunately I don't think Lewis' brand fits in with Mercedes. Outside the car some of his behaviour has been erratic with the Twittergate episode merely being the latest and he has a blingy entourage. I don't think either of those characteristics fit with the Mercedes brand.
Nor does Hamilton 'suit' McLaren but then he can sell MP-4 12Cs to his entourage.

Keeping Lewis with Merc I see nothing wrong with it. AMG is now tied up with Daimler for Merc's halo cars.
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Old 09-06-2012, 09:29 PM   #35
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I hope that this is true, although I doubt it. Initially it will be good for a hater like me, because I doubt that Merc will be as competitive as the McLaren.
However in the end it will be good for Hamilton as well. I think that in a team which is not a great like McLaren he will learn the true cost of success and will become much more matured and intelligent driver, like Michael did in Ferrari (compared to his early days in Benetton). Also, one should not forget that Ross Brawn is a man who can give a lot to Hamilton. He gave a lot to Button - I remember a story in the blog of James Allen in which was described how Jenson became much more pedantic and professional under the wing of Brawn. I think that Hamilton can learn a lot from Brawn and in the end, when the Merc becomes strong OR he leaves to another top-team, like Ferrari and Red Bull, he will be ready to dominate the sport.
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Old 09-06-2012, 10:18 PM   #36
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It's now to 2015 I believe, but quite possible they could continue as a Mercedes customer after that.
Next year they pay for the engines for the first time.
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Old 09-06-2012, 10:20 PM   #37
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Hamilton=>Mercedes just feels like another Villeneuve=>BAR, although Mercedes is not a new team, it has proven personnel, and Lewis seems better able to elevate a team than JV.
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Old 09-06-2012, 10:20 PM   #38
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... it will be good for Hamilton as well. I think that in a team which is not a great like McLaren he will learn the true cost of success and will become much more matured and intelligent driver, like Michael did in Ferrari (compared to his early days in Benetton). Also, one should not forget that Ross Brawn is a man who can give a lot to Hamilton. He gave a lot to Button - I remember a story in the blog of James Allen in which was described how Jenson became much more pedantic and professional under the wing of Brawn. I think that Hamilton can learn a lot from Brawn and in the end, when the Merc becomes strong OR he leaves to another top-team, like Ferrari and Red Bull, he will be ready to dominate the sport.
The jury is still out on this one. We will anxiously watch how he does.
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Old 09-06-2012, 10:21 PM   #39
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Lewis seems better able to elevate a team than JV.
That's not saying much!
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Old 09-06-2012, 11:25 PM   #40
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I for one hope this is not true, and if anything might be a bargaining chip for either Mclaren, ferrari or RBR, heck at this point even Williams and Lotus are better options than Mercedes.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the mercedes F1 car design philosophy and imo they seem to have taken a step back.
Of course, this could change in the next year or two, and Ross brawn is still a genius, but unless hey hire new engineers and strategists, then they will continue to struggle in races.
Hamilton might be lured there with an astronomical salary, but I don't believe if he goes there, he will be able to change their fortunes around, unless the car gets better.

Then there is also the fickle nature of major works teams who can decided at the end of the season that they are closing up shop.
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