In the biggest Formula 1 drivers market shift since Fernando Alonso left Mclaren, Lewis Hamilton is expected to announce his move to AMG Mercedes F1 with a reported 3 year, $100 million deal. Replacing him as team mate to Jenson Button will be Sergio Perez.
Now the inevitable questions: who will be with Lewis at Mercedes? Schumacher? If so, where will Rosberg go, Ferrari as rumored or will Maranello really keep Massa?
I can't imagine Rosberg would take a one year deal.... in the meantime, Jaime Alguersauri has been telling everyone who will listen he's sure to be back in F1 in 2013....
Keep in mind Petrov has said his sponsorship money has dried up and that Senna's seat at Williams is not too stable.
Mercedes was the last holdout for the new Concorde agreement, one wonders if Mr. E had a hand in all this, Mercedes stays if they can get one of the biggest stars in racing and such a dramatic shift, from the team that raised him from a child to World Champion is sure to create a new storyline for the F1 reality show.
Pass the popcorn.
UPDATE: with the official announcement today, we know Schumacher will be leaving Mercedes. It's likely he will just retire again but that does not stop the rumor mill, my favorite so far? It has to be Button to Ferrari with di Resta at Mclaren, Massa at Sauder and Alguersauri at Force India.... what next, Santa Claus at Caterham?
I'll be very interested to see how Button and Perez handle each other. 2 years alongside Hamilton have raised my opinion of Button and it will be interesting to see how Perez compares. Also Rosberg Vs Hammy could be quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteAlso Alonso spent 2 years at Renault between his McLaren and Ferrari stints.
you are right, that wast't clear... corrected.... phew! :)
DeleteI cant imagine that Ferrari will let go Perez to McL, because he os in the Ferrari Driver Academy.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you , especially as Perez comes incredibly well funded, This might be have to be seen though the prospective of Vettel landing at Ferrari in the future. There is no reason to think Perez would sign something less than a multi year contract.
DeleteThe next big knot is Schumacher... if he goes it' simple. If he stays then it gets real interesting.
perspective...
ReplyDeleteThis move makes it pretty clear that Hamilton is more concerned with being famous than winning World Championships. Mr. Fuller should be happy with himself.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty though. For as much as I like and respect Button, I'm not sure he can lead McLaren. I guess we'll find out if all this pans out they way they're talking.
The more I think of this the more I believe this has to do with keeping Mercedes in F1, which is also in Ferrari's interest
DeleteI agree with you. But how does this affect Ferrari? I believe Vettel will be there in 2014 which makes sense for their excuses about Perez "not being ready". Why would they sign him to a 1 year contract?
DeleteI think Mercedes would've been smart not to extend Nico's contract especially with Hamilton (potentially) coming on board and Schumacher on the fence about retiring. There's also the discussion of Coke trying to get a stake in the sport though Monster Energy. The politics are unreal as of late...
I also can't help but wonder if these circumstances would've been the same had McLaren not botched so many of Lewis's and Jenson's races this season...
Not sure if Button can lead McLaren? Huh? That's exactly what he's been doing.
Deletewell there goes the last shred of respect I had for Lewis, Merc aren't a championship winning team, they're barely a race winner and he's walking away from the team that raised him, the team that CAN give him more wins and championships for merc money! it's not like you need the money Lewis
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's about the money for Lewis. He has grown up in a Mclaren bubble his whole life. Moving to Mercedes may be the making of him. He must have an eye on 2014, which will be a level playing field for the top teams.
ReplyDeleteTeam loyalty is a fickle thing, Schumacher was pretty much married to Ferrari but that didn't stop him moving to a drive at Merc.
Perez to McLaren, really??? He should be thanking his lucky stars (and deep pockets). On the topic of Massa, he has got to go.
ReplyDeleteAll the reports are that Massa will re-sign for one year and Vettel to join Ferrari in 2014.
DeleteYou brought up another one: Vettel to Ferrari. I don't get why a real racer would leave a team that's basically built around them and have won World Championships with. Are they looking for a new challenge or is it just down to cash?
DeleteReports are Schumi is the seat that is being vacated, not Rosberg.
ReplyDeleteNo one ever thought Schumacher would stay (apart from AC), especially after the events of Singapore.
DeleteAre you kidding? for whatever reason, Mercedes was waiting for Schumacher to make up his mind and would have kept him had he not dilly dallied for so long. Clearly this deal was done way before Singapore but what happened there just makes it easier for MB and a more humiliating exit for MS.
DeleteFrom everything I have read this has been forced on Schumacher and he has had no choice but to step aside. The deal was done with Hamilton and Merc just need the signoff by the board this week.
Deletewhat about michael to sauber or ferrari for a year?
ReplyDeleteI know I'm in the minority, and let it be known I'm not a Hamilton supporter, but I think there could be some defensible logic in the move for several reasons:
ReplyDelete-Merc has a very deep bench of engineering talent; they're second tier guys are all former technical directors! Keep in mind most of this talent was bought after the 2012 chassis was well underway.
-Merc will have an information advantage early in 2014 being the designer/supplier of new powerplants.
-Because Ross Brawn
Then again, BMW and Toyota had equally impressive facilities at their disposal and we all know how that ended.
-Raikkonen fan
Looks like Schumacher could go to Sauber.
ReplyDeletehttp://thejudge13.com/2012/10/01/schauber-or-ferrari-schumachers-options/