Hamilton to Mercedes - Confirmed

[truefan72]

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.

[keysersoze]

That's not saying much!

I'll grant you that.

[Garry Walker]

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.

Driver cannot elevate a team, other than by his driving. This leadership thing is crap, nor do they have much effect on the development of the car. LH is a better driver than JV of course.

If LH goes to Mercedes, well, he is an idiot and proves himself to be firstly driven by money not by success. I would be very dissapointed in him. But him to Mercedes, Kimi to McLaren?

[driveace]

Well if stories are true and he does drive for Mercedes,we will then see how fast he can peddle a slow car,as Rosberg has looked poor this year,and if Brawn is such a good motivator ,as is suggested by some with Button,why has he struggled with Rosberg,who must be dying for wins or a competitive car ?

[F1boat]

Nico is not on the level of Lewis, simple as that. He is a good driver, but not a great one.

[tfp]

Well if stories are true and he does drive for Mercedes,we will then see how fast he can peddle a slow car,as Rosberg has looked poor this year,and if Brawn is such a good motivator ,as is suggested by some with Button,why has he struggled with Rosberg,who must be dying for wins or a competitive car ?

I was thinking that myself, but at least they have one win this year. I spent the whole of last year thinking Brawn would pull some crazy developments out of the hat at a minutes notice, and hopefuly add some entertainment to what I thought was a pretty boring and predictable season.

[Bagwan]

Did you see how fast Michael was in first practice , Lewis ?
Can you think of what it would be like to beat a seven time world champion in his own car ?

[longisland]

I would love to see Lewis taking up the challenge to turn Mercedes' fortune around. He is one of the very few drivers who has the ability to drive around the car. His performance compared to Button this season says it all. No doubt Schumacher has the same quality but he'd lost 0.3s of raw speed. Mercedes may just overcome the tire degradation issue next season so there's everything to play for. IMHO, if one really believes Lewis is more or as talented as Schumacher in his prime, he should be able to emulate Schumacher in his prime transforming an under performing big team into a championship winning team. As for his tweet, it's no different from the likes of Schumacher, Alonso & Senna. The only thing that matters is winning the WDC.

[prpr]

Ross Brawn quoted in Autosport.com, speaking of 2014 and the new engine rules:

"We [Mercedes] will probably have two customers, and those customers will be given parity with the engines that we use at the works team. So I don't think teams are going to have a worse engine because they are not a works team.

"But, inevitably, there is a closer involvement with how the engine is created and developed, so that is a fact."

Is this what he is selling to Lewis Hamilton?

[rabf1]

"If LH goes to Mercedes, well, he is an idiot and proves himself to be firstly driven by money not by success."

Would Mercedes really give him that much more money than McLaren? So it doesn't make sense to me that it is all about money. But it doesn't seem like it could be about a better chance to win either. What reason is there to believe that the Mercedes will be good next year? If MS had any inkling that the Mercedes might be a championship car next year I don't think he would retire. So the whole thing doesnt make much sense.