Italian Grand Prix 2012, Monza - Race 13/20

Skeeter said:
I think he cares about keeping Hamilton more :D.

Certainly more than Whitmarsh seemed to. This weekend he gave off the impression of someone who couldn't care less if Hamilton stayed or not. Its a dangerous attitude to take. Loosing Hamilton would be a massive mistake for McLaren given the effort they have put into getting him where he is. I'm fairly certain that if Ron was still in charge Hamilton would have signed another 5 year deal months ago.
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There are reports going around this morning that Ron wasnt particularly happy during the podium presentation yesterday (and LH appeared a little "off" as well)

Havent seen any replays yet to make my own mind up - press making something out of nothing, or was this actually evident?

(when you said "he gave off the impression...." I was thking you meant Whitmarsh - rather than Ron)
 
There are parallels to what happened to Button with Brawn GP. Loss of respect for each other.

Lewis got loudly booed on the podium so of course he wasn't going to be jumping for joy. There were also reports of racist chants and slurs coming from the crowd. Italy, Spain and Brazil are pretty much no-go areas for Hamilton. Has to always keep a low profile.
 
You'd have thought that if Hamilton had any intentions of staying then he'd have signed by now. Then both he and the team could concentrate on the championship, rather than ducking questions and speculation about his future.
 
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Mr Men said:
all of them?
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Not all but many . Its like bit like the suarez saga. Its like anything can be said to get the upper hand put the opposition off. I live next to spain and have daily interactions with them and listen watch many spanish media outlets. My opinion is based on experience. The hendry scandal and the chinese olymipcs scandal spring to mind. Its not a baseless comment.
 
barmyllama said:
You'd have thought that if Hamilton had any intentions of staying then he'd have signed by now. Then both he and the team could concentrate on the championship, rather than ducking questions and speculation about his future.
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Its about getting the best deal. You don't just sign straight away.

When there was spaces at Ferrari and RBR and things going, it was understandable that keeps McLaren on their toes. But now that opportunities are closing around him its getting a bit silly and he should just sit down and sign.

Its not like he's the last driver out there not to sign though. In the top teams alone there are gaps in Ferrari and Mercedes, and as a whole I expect there are more people who haven't signed for next year on the grid than those who have.
 
NathanE said:
There are parallels to what happened to Button with Brawn GP. Loss of respect for each other.

Lewis got loudly booed on the podium so of course he wasn't going to be jumping for joy. There were also reports of racist chants and slurs coming from the crowd. Italy, Spain and Brazil are pretty much no-go areas for Hamilton. Has to always keep a low profile.
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Never heard any mention of that before now

I think things were taken out of Ross's hands in regards to the new owners (and wanting German drivers) and JB wanted a new "test" anyway

Never heard anything about "loss of respect" on either side

Skeeter said:
Its not like he's the last driver out there not to sign though. In the top teams alone there are gaps in Ferrari and Mercedes, and as a whole I expect there are more people who haven't signed for next year on the grid than those who have.
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Surely the space at Ferrari is irrelevant for LH either way.

Merc isnt yet a "top team". Yes , they have won a GP now, and may well again before the end of the season (although personally Im not so sure), but that joining that team is a much bigger gamble for LH than joining RB - if there was space of course. I would love to include Lotus, but if Merc arent a big team yet, its hard to argue on Lotus' side. There are reallyonly two other teams equal to McLaren, and the pranxcing horse is a no go area for LH imo
 
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Lewis to Mercedes is nothing more than a ploy to get better terms from McLaren. If his agents recommend he goes to Mercedes, simply because he will get paid more than they have no interest in his career, only how much he can make them.

If he goes because he feels his 'brand' will be enhanced by being there then he himself has become consumed with self promotion rather than being a racing driver and McLaren would be better off without him.
 
Lewis said that the main thing he wants is to be able to challenge for the win at every race. Nothing about Merc makes me think they can offer him that.

I agree its just a ploy, but he needs to be careful not to push McLaren too hard and loose his chance with them.

I also agree that the only real opportunity he had was RBR. The Ferrari space is not an option, even though Ferrari and Alonso keep banging on about how they have no issue with him and would welcome him into the team. If that were the case, he would have already signed for Ferrari.
 
Skeeter said:
Lewis said that the main thing he wants is to be able to challenge for the win at every race. Nothing about Merc makes me think they can offer him that.

I agree its just a ploy, but he needs to be careful not to push McLaren too hard and loose his chance with them.

I also agree that the only real opportunity he had was RBR. The Ferrari space is not an option, even though Ferrari and Alonso keep banging on about how they have no issue with him and would welcome him into the team. If that were the case, he would have already signed for Ferrari.
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Alonso is very complimentary about him at the moment. Would love to see him and Nando at Ferrari
 
Tenzo said:
Alonso is very complimentary about him at the moment. Would love to see him and Nando at Ferrari
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I mentioned it in another thread. You need to look at what Ferrari do, rather than what they say.

On the face of it you have a top race winning team with a space on their driver lineup next year, and Hamilton, a top driver, is available for a new contract starting next year. Its a perfect fit.

Yet, not only have they not signed him, they haven't even aproached him from what I can tell.

This tells me 1 of 2 things. Either they are not telling the truth when they say they would welcome him into the team, or that the space they have available is not suited to a longer term contract with Hamilton.

Personally, I think its a bit of both. I don't think they would want Alonso and Hamilton in the same team, and I think they are fairly confident Vettel will be joining in 2014 so are only looking for a 1 year stop-gap driver (which fits with the earlier Webber rumours). If its neither of those, why the hell haven't they signed him?
 
Tenzo said:
Alonso is very complimentary about him at the moment. Would love to see him and Nando at Ferrari
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And vice versa, I think they have both learned from McLaren 2007, and yeah they probably could work together now. Would certainly be interesting. Italian media though still says Ferrari are holding out for Kubica in 2014, so Massa will probably be given a new one year deal.

Then again Stefano has said he sees a younger driver coming in, so if Kubica is not returning then they will probably go for Perez in 2014.
 
Skeeter said:
I think he cares about keeping Hamilton more :D.

Certainly more than Whitmarsh seemed to. This weekend he gave off the impression of someone who couldn't care less if Hamilton stayed or not. Its a dangerous attitude to take. Loosing Hamilton would be a massive mistake for McLaren given the effort they have put into getting him where he is. I'm fairly certain that if Ron was still in charge Hamilton would have signed another 5 year deal months ago.
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I agree, imagine if JB was the team leader this season. Looking at possible Lewis replacements JB would definately be the team leader. Then look at his grid slots through the year. Yes he would have won two races but the team would have looked like it was in decline.

I'm really a big fan of JB but since the 2nd half of 2009 whatever happened is killing his chances of ever taking another title. As a team owner it would worry me being left with JB and a driver of lesser ability than Lewis or Jenson.

On the flip though Mclaren in the last 20 years haven't exactly done the best for their drivers either. The cars are rarely consistently good year to year and when they get most of the ingredients right they are laughable bad at dropping clangers of race losing proportions :( When you look at their record in the last 20 years, if like Ron you want to win 1 in 4 fair enough but to win titles they are hardly a shining beacon to commit to.

Sadly for JB and Lewis their is no where to currently go.
 
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