2021 Silly Season

[The Artist.....]

in 4 & half hours time. is the 4 time reigning champion & widely held thought of best driver on the grid a free agent / unemployed

because its got to be a long time since reigning world champion was unemployed

Not that long - after 2016, remember that Rosberg immediately retired...

 

[F1Brits_90]

Not that long - after 2016, remember that Rosberg immediately retired...

true but retirement & unemployed is surely 2 different things. Lewis wants to carry on

 

[The Artist.....]

There's rumours coming out of Lewis having asked for a 4 year contract worth $200million. Daimler are apparently balking at this - and have half an eye on Russell (whether for 2022, or 2021...)

 

[cider_and_toast]

We're at the stage in Hamilton's career when he doesn't really need to worry if he races or not then.

I would expect a compromise will be reached and a deal done.

 

[F1Brits_90]

there something about this that doesnt sit right & im going to sound incredible or stupid but longer this goes on. i wonder if Hamilton going to take a year out. which sounds ludicrous i know.

but this is the strangest deal because this on paper should be the easiest contract deal in history & no need for negotiation. because mercedes has the best car & Hamilton is the best driver. i cant think of any reason. Hamilton doesnt need the money & immortality of an 8th world title also 100+ wins & poles. is worth more than any salary dispute & mercedes without Hamilton will find it tougher to win an 8th consecutive titles without him because you just chucked away 3-5 tenths a lap

but 50m a year is alot & maybe they will think russel will do it 8m

 

[Il_leone]

There's rumours coming out of Lewis having asked for a 4 year contract worth $200million. Daimler are apparently balking at this - and have half an eye on Russell (whether for 2022, or 2021...)

Daimler aint paying all his wages as Ineos own part of the F1 team. Yes Hamilton is an asset but such wage demands wont cut it . It probably has to do with being brand ambassador like Schumacher would havebeen to Ferrari

 

[Il_leone]

there something about this that doesnt sit right & im going to sound incredible or stupid but longer this goes on. i wonder if Hamilton going to take a year out. which sounds ludicrous i know.

but this is the strangest deal because this on paper should be the easiest contract deal in history & no need for negotiation. because mercedes has the best car & Hamilton is the best driver. i cant think of any reason. Hamilton doesnt need the money & immortality of an 8th world title also 100+ wins & poles. is worth more than any salary dispute & mercedes without Hamilton will find it tougher to win an 8th consecutive titles without him because you just chucked away 3-5 tenths a lap

but 50m a year is alot & maybe they will think russel will do it 8m

Taking a year out makes no sense to Hamilton unless they can guarantee a seat in 2022 and who his teammate will be

You get the feeling Hamilton wants to focus on racing and BLM but Daimler would like him to do more corporate work.

50m is seriously a lot of money which he does not to be honest

 

[The Artist.....]

I suppose the other element could be that Hamilton famously doesn't want to be engaged in PR work for his team - that's one of the reasons that was given for him leaving McLaren - as Mercedes were willing to give him more leeway. When it comes to asking for a $200million contract, if he doesn't do PR work, then that wouldn't be a good outcome.

 

[The Artist.....]

One source (although I don't know how reputable...)

Daimler Reportedly Hit the Brakes on Lewis Hamilton's Enormous Mercedes F1 Contract Demands - EssentiallySports

 

[F1Brits_90]

the

i thought i could get a jump on it. but seemingly i was late to the party

 

[Il_leone]

Interesting that Perez is considered a good bet ahead of Le Clerc

Alonso at 66-1 that be some outsiders bet but worth a flutter

Where is Vettel on this list because in a basically a semi works Mercedes his chances ought to be good

-----

Going back to Hamilton - $50m is too high but he will want to be paid to show he is still the worlds best driver so $35m a year for 2 years is something reasonable.. Senna use to sign for Mclaren on rolling year contract and play real hardball with Ron Dennis until he found Mclaren could no longer be front runners

So I would not be surprised if Hamilton signs a contract with an option on it . I seriously think 10 titles is pretty much impossible for him given Mercedes' resources are split between 4 teams and Formula E to be honest. The only way it could happen is if Mercedes sign Adrian Newey which will never happen to be frank

 

[P1]

Interesting that Perez is considered a good bet ahead of Le Clerc

Alonso at 66-1 that be some outsiders bet but worth a flutter

Where is Vettel on this list because in a basically a semi works Mercedes his chances ought to be good

-----

Going back to Hamilton - $50m is too high but he will want to be paid to show he is still the worlds best driver so $35m a year for 2 years is something reasonable.. Senna use to sign for Mclaren on rolling year contract and play real hardball with Ron Dennis until he found Mclaren could no longer be front runners

So I would not be surprised if Hamilton signs a contract with an option on it . I seriously think 10 titles is pretty much impossible for him given Mercedes' resources are split between 4 teams and Formula E to be honest. The only way it could happen is if Mercedes sign Adrian Newey which will never happen to be frank

Mercedes don't control or own the voting rights to the Mercedes F1 team any more. They own only a third of the team. Decisions have to be made by a majority vote of three equal shareholders - Toto Wolff, Ineos and Mercedes. Equally the budget is not controlled by Mercedes. The Budget is also determined by a majority vote of the three shareholders. They can choose how much profit to make versus how much to spend.

So this notion of Mercedes splitting resources is somewhat moot. The Mercedes-AMG F1 Team is an independent entity with its own resources. If Mercedes were to relocate aero talent to another racing effort they would be stealing from Toto and Ineos - because these are resources of the F1 team, not of Mercedes itself. The only thing that is shared with the rest of Mercedes is the HPP engine division.

I would imagine the biggest stumbling block is not going to be money but rather about Hamilton's advocacy goals and ensuring a framework which balances "good advocacy" with not stepping on any "political landmines" which could hurt the commercial sponsors, Mercedes and Ineos brands.

 

[Il_leone]

The reason for Mercedes let Ineos takeover the F1 team is to cut costs on the F1 team and divert money to their other motorsport programmes. They will need more people for the engine division and split the engineers between its 4 teams no doubt especially if both mclaren and Aston Martin start to be demanding. Mercedes would want Aston Martin to do well and not languish at the back given they also own 20% of the brand. Toto is in charge of all the motorsport operation and he is a shrewd business man. He wants Lewis to carry on but not if is not business sustainable for Mercedes

 

[P1]

The reason for Mercedes let Ineos takeover the F1 team is to cut costs on the F1 team and divert money to their other motorsport programmes. They will need more people for the engine division and split the engineers between its 4 teams no doubt especially if both mclaren and Aston Martin start to be demanding. Mercedes would want Aston Martin to do well and not languish at the back given they also own 20% of the brand. Toto is in charge of all the motorsport operation and he is a shrewd business man. He wants Lewis to carry on but not if is not business sustainable for Mercedes

You know that they don’t own 20% of Aston Martin. They have a deal to sell technology to Aston Martin through 2027 and receive shares instead of cash as payment. So they will own 20% by the end of 2027 but do not currently.

Also the deal has a clause which means Aston has to make up the difference in cash if the stock price drops below a threshold. So I don’t think it matters much to Mercedes if Aston succeeds or fails in F1.

 

[F1Brits_90]

i find this very interesting, the Official F1 website. almost guaranteeing Lewis Hamilton will be racing in 2021

What's going on with Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract? | Formula 1®

Is there a chance Hamilton won’t be in Formula 1 this year?​

No. The Briton made it seven world titles last year and has his eyes set on a record eighth this season. The recently knighted racing driver has no intention of hanging up his gloves and helmet just yet. The fact he is training hard right now – climbing a mountain every day as he said on social media – proves he’s gearing up for the season.

 

[Il_leone]

The only reason for Hamilton not being in F1 is usually about money . Surely he would not retire like Mansell did

 

[F1Brits_90]

The only reason for Hamilton not being in F1 is usually about money . Surely he would not retire like Mansell did

which retirement 90 93 or 95

 

[Il_leone]

The 1993 retirement I was referring to