Thread: Will LH leave McLaren? (ans: yes)

It would be interesting if Lulu does leave McLaren, I think he may find that the grass is not necessarily greener...

He's a fantastic driver, but IMO he hasn't experienced what it is like to actually struggle with a car/team that isnt set up around his preferences, and should he move to another (for arguments sake - Ferrari, the political intrigue capital of motorsport) I think he may well regret it.

anyway, we shall see.

He is frustrated by the mistakes this season, but to put this in perspective...

If a frustrating season meant only being 13 points off the lead after six races in a car that is pretty evenly matched by its competitors, you could do a lot worse. Hardly reason to change teams.

Originally Posted by mstillhere

IMO I think LH got upset last year with McLaren. He was given a car that was not a winner. That situation must have driven him crazy. At that time he must have said to himself: "I'll give them (McLaren) one more chance".

Which team can guarantee dominance??
He won a few races last year.

Originally Posted by mstillhere

Well, as you know, this year McLaren actually got worse than last year.

Based on what?
6 races and 6 winners. What more do you want?
The car has won races, excluding Monaco it has always been on the first row...
And he is two wins away from leading the c'ship...

Originally Posted by mstillhere

Race after race Lewis is unable to win they way he would like to and should.

Well, I'm not winning Lotto as I would like and as I should.

Originally Posted by mstillhere

The garage keeps in messing him up time and time again and, from a design perspective, was really a good idea not to change the nose of the car like the other teams? Is really just the tires fault??

...

Originally Posted by mstillhere

I think, if he were to leave McLaren, nobody could blame him at all. I know I wouldn't. And............no, I wouldn't like to see him in Ferrari either.

So what options are open exactly? And what makes you think anything will be different in another team?
Do you think Lotus, Merc or Williams would provide better results?

Originally Posted by mstillhere

I know Whitmarsh is saying that Lewis may not stay if he does not show some results this year but I think he knows in his heart that it's not Lewis's fault. It's MacLaren's and in part the garage's as well.

Oh yeah, and who would he hire instead?

Get real, bro.

In another thread it was asked whether Whitmarsh should be sacked. I think the conclusion was "no", because McLaren was still doing well despite not winning championships. Same is the answer for Hamilton. In an ideal world he would like to win championships and many of them. But realistically McLaren is still a very good career option for Lewis. Red Bull has been winning championships recently, but McLaren is very close in performance and RBR is beatable for them. So Hamilton may just as well stay put and hope for a tide to turn. Ferrari hasn't been doing any better than McLaren recently.

Mercedes is interesting, consists of talented people and is showing promise, but... they have not proven themselves (while McLaren is criticized for not winning titles, Merc hasn't finished even in Top3 of WCC) and their long-term commitment to the sport remains in question. Regarding silly season in general. I assume that Mercedes would at least attempt to lure Hamilton. But for Hamilton McLaren may still seem a better option. Mercedes' only hope is if they can really impress during the rest of the season and genuinely fight for the championship... and win it.

McLaren is and has been in a much better shape than in mid-90's for instance. Back then there were rumours about Häkkinen getting fed up of constant midfield cars and looking around, but in the end he stayed put. Hamilton hasn't really much to complain about compared to that. Schumacher was losing title after title in late 90's, but he wasn't going to leave Ferrari. I think McLaren's situation in terms of competitiveness is comparable to Ferrari in late 90's - contender, but not quite a champion. But it takes only a little step to make it.

If Lewis does move team, I'd say Red Bull would probably be his most atractive option mainly due to Newey's design/engineering brilliance at producing great cars. I'd imagine a Hamilton and Vettel driver line up would be the pairing most of the fans would like to see but would such a line up really be desirable from Red Bulls POV?

Staying with McLaren is the safe and most sensible option and I'll be surprised if he moves team.. but if he does, I'd absolutely love to see the No1 driver battle being fought out with Vettel at Red Bull.

Originally Posted by theugsquirrel

He is frustrated by the mistakes this season, but to put this in perspective...

If a frustrating season meant only being 13 points off the lead after six races in a car that is pretty evenly matched by its competitors, you could do a lot worse.

Well said. I think Hamilton could ask Schumacher, what does a frustrating season really mean.

Also it could be asked whether Vettel should have got frustrated with Red Bull in 2010 and left the team after suffering loads of car problems.

Andrew Benson wrote an article in his blog last week on the subject of whether Lewis should leave McLaren and explores his various options..

BBC - Andrew Benson: Speculation starts early over Hamilton's future

All this talk of him leaving... I don't know how true it is but I think that right now it is his best place. Red Bull and Ferrari both believe in #1 drivers and I doubt he would be that if he went to either.

On the other hand, if he went to Mercedes after Michael leaves, that could be a great fit for him.

where would he go? Ferrari is a no- Alonso would never allow it- RBR- well possibly I guess- but if Webber were to leave either Riccardo or JEV could step up to the senior team. And could RBR manage Vettel and LH in the same team..... this years car is competiticve- they've made some silly mistakes in the races. I really don't see where else he could go other than maybe Mercedes assuming Schumi goes at the end of the year

The difference in IMO is that MS has nothing to prove. LH, and that's my guess, still is at the beginning of his career and has a lot to prove.

Obviously nobody better than LH knows what is really happening at McLaren and if LH has not signed the new contract that's for a reason. McLaren has lost in the last few months technical personnel taht could have proven pivotal for the car's developpment. On top of that McLAren may have some financial issues as well. Mercedes is not paying anymore part of LH salary and soon enough McALren would have to start engine shopping as well.

So, to me the picture of McLaren's future seems to be a little blurry. especially when you see Ferrari and Mercedes getting better and better and RB is till there. Now we can say what we want but again LH has a very clear picture of what's going on with his team.

In terms of who could Whitmarsh hire I think there are a number of good drivers out there who if given a chance could surprise quite few of us. See Perez, Di Resta etc.

Considering that McLaren has consistently managed to produce a top car over the last few seasons, I don't think it would be a great idea for Hamilton to leave McLaren. The only option I'd consider in his place is Red Bull, and you'd have to wonder whether it would really make sense to leave McL for RBR. There's no answer as to whether Red Bull can keep up with their 2010 and 2011 form or if they'll sink in a couple of years, while McLaren has proven that it has what it takes to be a frontrunner year after year. And seeing how the other teams have fared over the last few years -specially Ferrari and Mercedes-, I don't see any reason for Hamilton to look for a drive in them.

The only way that Hamilton would go to RBR is if Vettel left. So we really need to be discussing if Vettel will leave Red
Bull first and if so where he would go.

It was pointed out above they are due to lose Mercedes engines at some point. Although I think it was something like a 5 year deal when the Merc works team was set up in 2010.

Of course anything can happen.

That McLaren will lose Mercedes engines has always been an improbability to me. Why McLaren and not Force India? Who will be the flagship Mercedes team if McLaren does not get the Mercedes engine? I think the rumor started circulating when Mercedes bought Brawn GP and sold its ownership share of McLaren. However, with the existence of Mercedes AMG team hanging by the thread right now, I doubt Mercedes will part ways with the best Mercedes-powered team unless Mercedes decides to pull out of F1 completely.

Perhaps it's a question of whether Hamilton is happy at McLaren. People are focussed on whether McLaren is the best option in terms of car performance, and I agree that it is, but if Hamilton isn't happy he may look elsewhere regardless of performance.

Hamilton hasn't been the happiest of drivers over the past couple of years. He's been short with the media, his driving has been up and down and he's quick to criticise the team over the radio when something goes wrong. If you're not happy at work it's hard to give it everything you have.

I think Hamilton will stay with McLaren because Ferrari and Red Bull aren't feasible options and Mercedes and Lotus have big question marks surrounding them. Whatever his decision I think it will be based on more than just car performance.

McLaren are acting like a bunch of fumbling fools. Mercedes and Co. seem to have their heads on straight. They will sign the Concorde Agreement as well, so I'm not too worried over that row. I think Ross Brawn and Lewis would get along very well and provide some championships for the Silver Arrow.

My prediction: Mercedes.

Originally Posted by gloomyDAY

McLaren are acting like a bunch of fumbling fools. Mercedes and Co. seem to have their heads on straight. They will sign the Concorde Agreement as well, so I'm not too worried over that row. I think Ross Brawn and Lewis would get along very well and provide some championships for the Silver Arrow.

My prediction: Mercedes.

That would be my guess as well unless.................Vettel goes to Ferrari replacing Massa. Can you imagine? Although Vettel has said recently that he has not contract with Ferrari I think it is plausible to see Alonso and Vettel together. .

Originally Posted by gloomyDAY

McLaren are acting like a bunch of fumbling fools. Mercedes and Co. seem to have their heads on straight.

Really? Michael can only dream for the season that Lewis is having. 4 mistakes or issues with his car out of six races. Much worse than what Lewis has in McLaren.