2212 replies to this topic

[senna da silva]

Lots of compliments for Fernando and Ferrari. It'll be hard to cheer for Lewis if he goes the the dark side.

[PayasYouRace]

Sorry, I don't understand your point exactly.

I don't think he's about to dump McLaren at all, nor McLaren him. They've been together a very long time, much like Vettels relationship with Red Bull.

Alonso and Schumacher are likewise special cases; Alonsos racing ethos suits Ferrari perfectly whereas Schumacher calls the shots due to his relationship with Brawn and his status.

Both Red Bull and Mercedes have replacements in the pipeline from within their own young driver programmes, which leaves only Ferrari... and McLaren.

It would take a new comer to the front in order to change things, perhaps the return of Williams, but even so history has shown who us which teams have the superior infrastructure to remain permanent top teams. They are currently Ferrari and McLaren.

I was actually just thinking that if you disregard the other top teams for whatever reason, the only team that looks like it has potential for the front but lacks a "top" driver is Williams. But even though they are having a better season than last year, it would be a huge risk to move to them now.

But I like the sound of another British world champion in a Williams. Maybe some day...

[Pudu]

Lots of compliments for Fernando and Ferrari. It'll be hard to cheer for Lewis if he goes the the dark side.

LOL, ya, I have the same conundrum.

[SCUDmissile]

Lots of compliments for Fernando and Ferrari. It'll be hard to cheer for Lewis if he goes the the dark side.

Ferrari complementing him back. Remember Stefano in Spain? Also, LdM was very complementary in 2011, even with all the crashing.

On the dark side, it is not so bad, and let's remember who has the black team wear?
You guys might even enjoy it more!

[Les]

Sorry, I don't understand your point exactly.

I don't think he's about to dump McLaren at all, nor McLaren him. They've been together a very long time, much like Vettels relationship with Red Bull.

Alonso and Schumacher are likewise special cases; Alonsos racing ethos suits Ferrari perfectly whereas Schumacher calls the shots due to his relationship with Brawn and his status.

Both Red Bull and Mercedes have replacements in the pipeline from within their own young driver programmes, which leaves only Ferrari... and McLaren.

It would take a new comer to the front in order to change things, perhaps the return of Williams, but even so history has shown us which teams have the superior infrastructure to remain permanent top teams. They are currently Ferrari and McLaren.



I strongly disagree due to the driver arrangements I've described in my view. Hamilton and McLaren may not be a perfect match, but no team with a champion driver will want or need Hamilton. The exception there is if Schumacher retires from Mercedes, but then they have di Resta who has been a Mercedes driver for eight years. How will the team justify dumping him to the board at the penultimate hurdle, having paid for his career for eight years and got him into F1 where he performed?

Yeah but I personally think the McLaren/Hamilton relationship was at its height in 07/08 and have pretty much nosedived since then. 4 wins in 07, 5 in 08. 2nd in 07 and 1st in 08. He's been either 4th or 5th since then and scored no more than 3 wins a year. So they both need to think long and hard about if a change will do them good or not.

[Disgrace]

I was actually just thinking that if you disregard the other top teams for whatever reason, the only team that looks like it has potential for the front but lacks a "top" driver is Williams. But even though they are having a better season than last year, it would be a huge risk to move to them now.

I agree. Raikkonen was interested for a reason. I really thought Williams were going the way of Tyrrell last year but this year has shown what good infrastructure they have and what it can do in the right hands. However, I fully agree with the bolded. As I cannot envisage Hamilton driving for any current top team, this would be his only option, which is why I liken it to Villeneuve.

But I like the sound of another British world champion in a Williams. Maybe some day...

The real return of Williams would be some story, of the dormant F1 superpower.

[TheBunk]

That's fine if this was an isolated year but in my opinion Macca have proven themselves to be inferior to RB & Ferrari with respect to race weekend operations over a number of years now.

And this is the first year in four that they have started with a competitive car.

It may not be easy to switch, but it may equally difficult for a guy like Lewis to stay.

Perhaps, but if he wants to truly become a legend, he should show the goods, and then perhaps think about moving. Show that he can build a team like Vettel and Alonso can. Show that he can win a championship in a much more convincing way than 2008. And also show that his brain fades of 2011, are a thing of the past. Untill that time he should stick with Mclaren, who saved his bacon tens of times whenever he made another howler, and be sensible with salary demands. And to be really frank, if hes serious about this years championship, he should sign now, today, and get all that bullshit out of the way. cause somehow I see it becoming a distraction, and in the end used as an excuse.

[Pudu]

Perhaps, but if he wants to truly become a legend, he should show the goods, and then perhaps think about moving. Show that he can build a team like Vettel and Alonso can. Show that he can win a championship in a much more convincing way than 2008. And also show that his brain fades of 2011, are a thing of the past. Untill that time he should stick with Mclaren, who saved his bacon tens of times whenever he made another howler, and be sensible with salary demands. And to be really frank, if hes serious about this years championship, he should sign now, today, and get all that bullshit out of the way. cause somehow I see it becoming a distraction, and in the end used as an excuse.

Sorry, I have no idea what you are saying he should do.

[Disgrace]

Yeah but I personally think the McLaren/Hamilton relationship was at its height in 07/08 and have pretty much nosedived since then. 4 wins in 07, 5 in 08. 2nd in 07 and 1st in 08. He's been either 4th or 5th since then and scored no more than 3 wins a year. So they both need to think long and hard about if a change will do them good or not.

I would say the real bond between Hamilton and McLaren was Ron Dennis, much like Hakkinen, so I would agree. I'd keep in mind though that '07 and '08 were contested solely between McLaren and Ferrari. Since '09, two new teams have been up there and that has basically coincided with Hamilton's difficulties in adjusting to new surroundings in his personal life. However, I feel that is now behind him as we can see by the way he is driving and conducting himself in public this season so far.

If it wasn't for the amateur errors in the pits, merely operational issues that can be much more easily addressed than trying to jump from midfield to top team or even from occasional winner like Mercedes to regular winner, this season would be readily hailed as a resounding return to form by everyone. These issues are annoying as it is detracting away from the fact that Hamilton is driving excellently. I think greener pastures are on the horizon for these two.

Edited by Disgrace, 31 May 2012 - 23:13.

[Les]

I would say the real bond between Hamilton and McLaren was Ron Dennis, much like Hakkinen, so I would agree.

Yeah I would agree with your about that. Ron even went as far as to name Lewis in his top 3 all time McLaren drivers alongside Hakkinen and Senna didn't he?

[Muz Bee]

Sorry but I wasn't aware of any raging news that Lewis was likely to depart McLaren. Seems like one of those tabloid stories that just fester and grow. The heavyweights of F1 journalism haven't made any comments to my knowledge and I would never listen to a mainstream media story on F1 seriously.

I know Lewis has been a media darling in UK but for us fans outside the British Isles this is just a delusion along the lines of a girl group called "pussy cat dolls" being a musical reality, and frankly irrelevant for hard-bitten old men who have seen a few revolutions of the world take place. When Lewis gets his head out of the arses of people who seem to be famous for little more than being in the gossip columns of women's magazines, he performs better and looks less, errrr, distracted. Potentially there is a lot more left in Lewis if he truly grows up - like Jenson has.

I don't see why Lewis would go to Ferrari to join Fernando even if Massa appears to be heading for oblivion. I could believe that Mark may find striking a salary deal with RedBull for 2013 is very difficult, so maybe a dream team of Vettel and Hamilton could be quietly being planned. Mercedes look to be a big risk even if their recent form looks rather good. Lotus too don't look like a true GRAND Prix team yet so I wouldn't expect the Hamilton name to appear there. Which leaves the team he has been with throughout his career. They are one of The Big Two in Formula One and recapturing winning form is never far away for those guys. For that reason I think a mainly happy situation with the Mac looks a better prospect than anything any other team could offer with the possible exception of RB.

[AdHoc]

Hamilton's bond with Ron (and not McLaren) is quite similar with Alonso's hatred of Ron (and NOT of McLaren);)

Edited by AdHoc, 01 June 2012 - 04:40.

[ForeverF1]

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