If you were Merc negotiating Hamilton's next contract

[Junglist]

Russell beat Bottas easy. And may I say Russell never asked the team to make bottas give way
Russell passed him on the outside as well.

1 day in that car and Russell was on par in my opinion.
Just imagine what he would be like once he knew where all the buttons was.

Merc are losing money.
Why do you think they have laid 1000s off? for the fun of it or to pay for Hamilton?

You're making it sound like Hamilton has a hard time dealing with Bottas and has never passed him. Absolute nonsense and you know it.

I'm not saying Russell didn't do a fantastic job. But you're judging it off of one race and not taking any other external factors into consideration. It wasn't even a track that represents most normal circuits. Do I think Russell has a higher potential than Bottas, I think he does. Do I think Mercedes would be wise to change Hamilton for Russell. Absolutely not.

Hamilton has proved to the team when things are close he is the man to bring the points and prizes home. Based on 2017 and 2018 Hamilton was the deciding factor between Mercedes and Ferrari - that is not up for debate. Are you saying that Russell, and you're basing this just off of the Sakhir GP, would've also been enough to win the WDC/WCC those years despite having no evidence to back that up?

Are you suggesting that Russell after only his 2nd season (I think it's his second) has enough experience to direct the team for car development or when to make the right strategy at the right time during the races?


Sure, if you want to look at once race in isolation then yes, Russell has done enough to prove he is the #1 driver and Mercedes would be wise to give Hamilton his P45. Lets just ignore the blunders George done at two races this season in his Williams when he was in contention for his first points and **** the bed. I'm sure Mercedes would've been supper happy had that been in their car.

 

[Syla5]

Sorry but you are massively overvaluing the value of Hamilton. Pick any driver on the grid and they would move to Mercedes in a heartbeat and I bet they would all be far far far cheaper than £40mil a year. That is a ludicrous amount to pay when you have such a dominant car.

You are completely ignoring the amazing talent in the rest of the field. Put Max in that car and see what he can do. Charles Le Clerc? easy title win. They would all move for a paycut if it meant being in the Mercedes.

You say that Hamilton adds so much value to Mercedes and sponsors. Does he? He's probably the most hated driver on the grid and very Marmite. Some love him, many hate him. I wouldn't want that as a sponsor.

And as previously said, Mercedes NEED to balance the books, jobs are going from Mercedes, how can you turn around and give Hamilton £40 mil or more when you could get a Max, Charles, Danny, George for far less. Try justifying that one to the Daimler bosses.

Mercedes if anything have been a victim of their own success. They are stale now. No-one is that fussed if they win another world title, they're expected to, but did you see the interest in F1 and Mercedes when George Russell was allowed to race just once. They need a fresh face in there.

Either cut Hamilton's pay if they want to stick with him or get rid. Both options would benefit Mercedes in my opinion.

You couldnt a more obvious troll if you tried. Are you ignoring the £27m a year verstappen gets paid, the £35m a year vettel has been being paid at ferrari etc. I beleive leclerc is on over £20m per year. £20m for Ricciardo in Renault..

Sure thing, Hamilton isn't worth the £40m a year (according to you), but by your logic, no driver is. Yet many on the grid are paid a lot more then the £10m per year. Bottas gets £9m per year in the second merc seat and has done nothing more then prove himselfs as a capable midfield driver in a championship capable winning car....

 

[james.miller]

until it's proven that he isnt the best driver then he deserves the best pay. What i think of him as a person is irrelevant in this case. he's earning that cheddar.

 

[Syla5]

Merc are losing money.
Why do you think they have laid 1000s off? for the fun of it or to pay for Hamilton?

Except they made profit.... maybe fact check before making such bold statements.

Also Mercedes car division and Mercedes f1 are different. As for the cost cutting redundancies, do you not comprehend that maybe those people were not adding the value to the company that the company needed to be able to retain them?

 

[Junglist]

Except they made profit.... maybe fact check before making such bold statements.

Also Mercedes car division and Mercedes f1 are different. As for the cost cutting redundancies, do you not comprehend that maybe those people were not adding the value to the company that the company needed to be able to retain them?

Daimler only spend 40m a year on the F1 division. Everything else is brought in by prize money/sponsorships.

 

[MagicBoy]

I seem to recall Senna offering to drive for nothing to get in the best car. Taking that into account, George Russell .. and the ludicrous amount of money Hamilton has in the bank .... I don't think holding out for $40m a year is wise.

 

[Syla5]

Yeap i know this, but it seems some here dont lol.

 

[Syla5]

I seem to recall Senna offering to drive for nothing to get in the best car. Taking that into account, George Russell .. and the ludicrous amount of money Hamilton has in the bank .... I don't think holding out for $40m a year is wise.

Senna also refused to drive the 1993 Mclaren i think it was, unless he was paid £1m per race, and they went on a race by race basis to the end of the year, after which he left and went to Williams.

Edit - For those wondering £16m in 1993 is the equivalent to £32m today.

 

[WJA96]

There is also the history - Ross Brawn asked Lewis Hamilton to leave the very successful McLaren team for the frankly middle of the grid Mercedes team (remember Mercedes when they had Michael Schumacher in the car? They won nothing.) Brawn convinced Hamilton that he (and Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe etc.) were going to build a winning car. The fact is that when Hamilton signed his first Mercedes contract he was going to a team based on promises of what they were going to do in future. In hindsight, it was brilliant move. But at the time I think a few people though it wasn't as clever as it appears now.

So Lewis and Mercedes have very much grown together and been successful together. So they won't stitch him up at this stage in their mutual careers and Hamilton will want to capitalise on what he has left in the sport.

It's a team thing. Look at Paddy Lowe. He was the man at Mercedes and he went to Williams and just failed spectacularly. George Russell has the same engine in the Williams they have in the Mercedes but it's still generally on the back three rows of the grid. So why hasn't Russell had more of an impact if he's that amazing? Conversely, would Hamilton win in the Williams? Probably not. We'll only know how good they are in comparison if they're racing in the same car. I'd love to see that. Mercedes or Williams. I don't really care.

 

[rubberduck]

Hamilton has a maximum of 2 more years at Merc, better off bringing Russell in now and creating a new star as opposed to sticking with an old expensive star who is on his last legs. I think people are massively overestimating Hamilton's value to the Merc brand. £10 million or jog on tbh.

 

[Kenai]

In hindsight, it was brilliant move. But at the time I think a few people though it wasn't as clever as it appears now.

I think it was considerably more than a few people. Me included at the time.

A few quotes from the thread on here when the news was breaking:

• Absolutely backwards move if true? If he's honestly in it to win, then going to a team which hasn't been anywhere for the past three years isn't the way to do it.
  
• I am shocked by this. If true will be ruinous for him in my opinion.
  
• If that turns out to be true that would be the big backwards step in his career!
  
• Stupid move imo.
  
• I'd be very surprised if true. It would be a huge step backwards.
  
• the car isnt good enough to get him a championship
  
• Mercedes is in no way a better option than Mclaren, or even Lotus.
  
• Just don't see it happening tbh, it's a backward move.
  
• What a joke, he'll never win a championship there. Greedy *******
  
• He is bonkers if he does sign, his can forget winning titles.
  
• Bad move by hammy imo, and he has dropped in my estimations too - seems all about the money
  
• I think he will live to regret this move.
  
• I'm gutted He's never going to win again.
  
• Dumbest. Move. Ever.
  
• Jesus :/ This is stupid.
  
• Right I'm off to find odds on Perez winning 2013 WDC
  
• Wtf, what an ejit, guess ill have to eat my hat.
  
• He would have earned a lot more winning at McLaren than he will fighting to get into the points with another brick of a Mercedes.
  
• This has FAIL written all over it to be honest.
  
• If this is about performance - he's really not going to find what he's looking for at Mercedes unless by some miracle they get the upcoming change in regs absolutely on the money.
  
• What a tool. No other words.
  
• HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This is what dreams are made of Hamiltons career is over
  
• Maybe it will be for the best but I'm finding it hard to see at the moment.
  
• I think he's a bit of a retard. He's not short of money, so why risk jumping to a lower team?
  
• Hamilton is not going to win a single race next year or for the foreseeable future.
  
• I see career decline and then paling into insignifcance.
  
• If I had to place a bet on who I thought was more likely to win the WDC next year between Perez and Hamilton, I'd back Perez.
  
• God help Mercedes if he has any input into the design
  
• Stupid career move in my honest opinion, Perez will in all most certainty be in a much better car that is viable of winning the championship and Hamilton will end up lower down the grid, silly boy
  
• I guess Hamilton has sold out his title chances for the extra money. Guess he wants a bigger nest egg for retirement and sees that as more important than a title

There were a few with some excellent foresight too mind:

I don't see it as a bad move, in fact I see Mercedes eventually surpassing mc (if the manufacturer backs them) and mc going backwards, surely they haven't the funds that Mercedes has? Especially now they will have to fund the whole team themselves

There's no reason that Mercedes couldn't win it next year tbh

 

[deuse]

You're making it sound like Hamilton has a hard time dealing with Bottas and has never passed him. Absolute nonsense and you know it.

I stopped reading adter that as we all know that Bottas gave way to Hamilton plenty of times.

Again. He maybe worth $10mil, but no one is worth that kind of money in any sport.

 

[deuse]

Except they made profit.... maybe fact check before making such bold statements.

Also Mercedes car division and Mercedes f1 are different. As for the cost cutting redundancies, do you not comprehend that maybe those people were not adding the value to the company that the company needed to be able to retain them?

Daimler are in charge and give money to merc every year.
Do you really think that they lay off 10-15,000 people for the fun of it?

 

[Stumble Bum]

You couldnt a more obvious troll if you tried. Are you ignoring the £27m a year verstappen gets paid, the £35m a year vettel has been being paid at ferrari etc. I beleive leclerc is on over £20m per year. £20m for Ricciardo in Renault..

Sure thing, Hamilton isn't worth the £40m a year (according to you), but by your logic, no driver is. Yet many on the grid are paid a lot more then the £10m per year. Bottas gets £9m per year in the second merc seat and has done nothing more then prove himselfs as a capable midfield driver in a championship capable winning car....

And why am I a Troll? I've presented a well structured detailed post with several arguments which many people in this thread have also agreed with. Sounds like you're throwing your toys out of the pram when someone doesn't agree with you, so you just call them a troll? Bizarre.

Teams will pay good money to get the best driver, of course, but as we all know Mercedes' position right now is that they don't need to pay the highest. They're clearly the best by far. I wonder if Mercedes turned around and said to Hamilton either accept £10m or race for someone else. I wonder whether money or success is more important to him, I know for a fact every other driver would bite your hand off for that opportunity. Mercedes hold all the aces.

 

[bazzabear]

OK, we've had that he's greedy, he's not that good, anyone could do what he does, Merc don't need him...

Can someone complain about him being a tax exile too so we can complete the Hamilton bingo card?

 

[Syla5]

Daimler are in charge and give money to merc every year.
Do you really think that they lay off 10-15,000 people for the fun of it?

Daimler made a profit, you said they made a loss...

They make layoff's to prevent future losses as well...its not rocket science.

And why am I a Troll? I've presented a well structured detailed post with several arguments which many people in this thread have also agreed with. Sounds like you're throwing your toys out of the pram when someone doesn't agree with you, so you just call them a troll? Bizarre.

Teams will pay good money to get the best driver, of course, but as we all know Mercedes' position right now is that they don't need to pay the highest. They're clearly the best by far. I wonder if Mercedes turned around and said to Hamilton either accept £10m or race for someone else. I wonder whether money or success is more important to him, I know for a fact every other driver would bite your hand off for that opportunity. Mercedes hold all the aces.

Your post doesn't contain a single well structured counter point as to why specifically Hamilton shouldn't be paid what he is paid, and you blindly ignore the fact of all the other drivers pay. You also ignore the input the driver and historically all top drivers have on the team and car development away from the track and you ignore the marketing value / sponsorship value they bring as well.

Sure Mercedes COULD pay a driver £5m to drive the car, but how much return would they get for that £5m, maybe £10m, £15m??? Where as Hamilton along could get them £500m exposure or more.

Clueless hater thinking, without consideration for the full picture.

 

[Tenzo]

Hilarious thread really - take a 75% pay cut or jog on.

While I agree no sports person should be paid $10m a year, Hamilton deservedly commands the highest salary on the grid. Benchmark current salarys and $30-40m is not as wild as it seems.

Doesn't Horner earn $10m himself for example?

 

[Junglist]

I stopped reading adter that as we all know that Bottas gave way to Hamilton plenty of times.

Again. He maybe worth $10mil, but no one is worth that kind of money in any sport.

Yes, he did. But did Bottas ever give way to Hamilton when he was A) Still in the WDC race B) Not being woefully slow and jeopardising a team victory or 1-2.

You act like Hamilton always asks to get past him when you know that isn't true.

Can I ask - Why do you have Hamilton as your signature when you've shown time and time again you can't stand the man?

 

[Junglist]

Your post doesn't contain a single well structured counter point as to why specifically Hamilton shouldn't be paid what he is paid, and you blindly ignore the fact of all the other drivers pay. You also ignore the input the driver and historically all top drivers have on the team and car development away from the track and you ignore the marketing value / sponsorship value they bring as well.

Sure Mercedes COULD pay a driver £5m to drive the car, but how much return would they get for that £5m, maybe £10m, £15m??? Where as Hamilton along could get them £500m exposure or more.

Clueless hater thinking, without consideration for the full picture.

The same can be said for a few people in this thread. They just see one (1!!!!) race result and think it tells the entire picture.

Some of the resident experts here should send Mercedes their CVs as clearly they know more than the ones with all the data

You have the team bosses saying what he adds to the team in terms of driving ability and his experience when it comes to car development but you have nutjobs in here saying they don't need him.

 

[MagicBoy]

Senna also refused to drive the 1993 Mclaren i think it was, unless he was paid £1m per race, and they went on a race by race basis to the end of the year, after which he left and went to Williams.

Edit - For those wondering £16m in 1993 is the equivalent to £32m today.

Philip Morris were picking up the tab for Senna wages. With a customer engine they didn't have package to beat Williams, so Senna was their best bet for success. Worked out quite well.

You have the team bosses saying what he adds to the team in terms of driving ability and his experience when it comes to car development but you have nutjobs in here saying they don't need him.

If it was that clear cut, the deal would have been done months ago, and Hamilton wouldn't be technically unemployed.