Maybe but this years cars have been built and there is no going back development for one car will not necessarily work on another so any knowledge he takes with him won't be of any use to Mercedes unless they completely redesign the car, also with the changes for next year everyone is starting from scratch so he won't be of any benefit there either....
Is Mercedes Going to Hit a New Lowe?!!
- Thread starter snowy
- Start date
I have a feeling that 2014 will be something of a Year Zero for F1 with the change in engine regs so I would expect Mercedes are looking at Lowe for future rather than the present.
Apparently it's a done deal and Lowe has been placed on gardening leave ready for a move to Mercedes in 2014.
Having a year out prior to one of the biggest technical rules and regulations changes in years is going to make him less than useful in his new job.
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1...Laren-s-Paddy-Lowe-will-join-Mercedes-in-2014
Having a year out prior to one of the biggest technical rules and regulations changes in years is going to make him less than useful in his new job.
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1...Laren-s-Paddy-Lowe-will-join-Mercedes-in-2014
So, any definitive news of Fry? Is he officially toast? Has he had his chips? Or will he continue to bring home the bacon?
(edit: inspired by snowy's post, which I misread as 'too many chefs')
(edit: inspired by snowy's post, which I misread as 'too many chefs')
Hang on. So Lowe is coming to Merc but can't do anything until 2014 because of his Mclaren contract and we could jump to the assumption that means Brawn won't be there for 2014.
So in preperation for 2014, the year of the rule changers and the year Lewis and Merc say they'll bridge the gap to the front, they'll have one man at the team who will be going elsewhere and won't care and one man who can't do anything even if he wanted too.
Doesn't sound good does it?
So in preperation for 2014, the year of the rule changers and the year Lewis and Merc say they'll bridge the gap to the front, they'll have one man at the team who will be going elsewhere and won't care and one man who can't do anything even if he wanted too.
Doesn't sound good does it?
I can't believe he will sit out the whole year doing nothing, surely Mercedes will hire him as a consultant or some other get around to have him working on the 2014 car.
I suppose Lowe could probably contribute quite a bit towards the 2014 effort working from home (or in a specially constructed garden in Northamptonshire) if he had to, especially if Merc came to a quiet arrangement with Mclaren to pay his salary.
I don't know how gardening leave works, without any prior arrangement surely anything he does for Mercedes will be in breach of his McLaren contract, even if he's doing it at home?
Didn't Williams do the same thing with Newey when he wanted to leave to join McLaren?
sushifiesta yes, that's why he presumably could only do any work for Mercedes by arrangement with Mclaren, but by the tone of Whitmarsh's statement it doesn't sound like that will happen.
Also, going by how Whitmarsh sings the praises of Tim Goss,
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/25/mclaren-confirm-lowe-leave-year/
it makes one wonder whether Mercedes even went for the right guy.
Also, going by how Whitmarsh sings the praises of Tim Goss,
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/25/mclaren-confirm-lowe-leave-year/
it makes one wonder whether Mercedes even went for the right guy.
Yep and he had no input with them either.
As for Mclaren coming to some special agreement I can't for the life of me think why they should. They've already drafted in his replacement and I can't see why they'd want run up that creek and pass mercedes a paddle. The only leverage Merc would have is the engines and as Mclaren are the only team actually winning races with Merc engines I can't see them pulling the plug over Lowe.
As for Mclaren coming to some special agreement I can't for the life of me think why they should. They've already drafted in his replacement and I can't see why they'd want run up that creek and pass mercedes a paddle. The only leverage Merc would have is the engines and as Mclaren are the only team actually winning races with Merc engines I can't see them pulling the plug over Lowe.
To be honest with all this chopping and changing and manoeuvring at Mercedes I can't see it doing the team any favours for this year or for 2014...
From the outside the whole things looks like a complete shambles...
From the outside the whole things looks like a complete shambles...
As is the case in Football when a high profile club fails to achieve anything significant in the owners eyes in the short term (think Chelsea here), the same applies to manufacturers in F1.
Ross Brawn took a huge gamble in signing Schumacher hoping to re-create the same spark that lifted Ferrari but that was always unlikely to happen. Between Rosberg and Schumacher there have been just 1 win and 5 podiums in 3 years. That's not good enough for the Mercedes board and I'm not surprised.
What this situation has now done is to put Ross Brawn on notice that he will almost certainly be moving upwards (that "director of football" role that usually means you get a desk at the office but aren't allowed to make any of the big decisions) or outwards.
This, along with the fact that Lowe won't get an early look at the plans for 2014, remembering that most teams will start the bulk of the design work on these cars by the middle of the year, and the huge upheaval in engine regs and it would seem that Mercedes will be behind the curve at best going into 2014.
No doubt there will be a few calls between Mercedes and Lowe along the lines of "you know that company car you wanted, we'll we can't seem to get the suspension working, nudge nudge wink wink, any thoughts?"
On the plus side, for Hamilton, it will be good to have a guy who he knows and has worked with, on the job. That can only be a good thing for a driver.
I just hope there's no truth in the rumors that Martin Whitmarsh has been seen in a Lufthansa ticket office with a copy of Percy Throwers Joy of Gardening tucked under his arm.
Ross Brawn took a huge gamble in signing Schumacher hoping to re-create the same spark that lifted Ferrari but that was always unlikely to happen. Between Rosberg and Schumacher there have been just 1 win and 5 podiums in 3 years. That's not good enough for the Mercedes board and I'm not surprised.
What this situation has now done is to put Ross Brawn on notice that he will almost certainly be moving upwards (that "director of football" role that usually means you get a desk at the office but aren't allowed to make any of the big decisions) or outwards.
This, along with the fact that Lowe won't get an early look at the plans for 2014, remembering that most teams will start the bulk of the design work on these cars by the middle of the year, and the huge upheaval in engine regs and it would seem that Mercedes will be behind the curve at best going into 2014.
No doubt there will be a few calls between Mercedes and Lowe along the lines of "you know that company car you wanted, we'll we can't seem to get the suspension working, nudge nudge wink wink, any thoughts?"
On the plus side, for Hamilton, it will be good to have a guy who he knows and has worked with, on the job. That can only be a good thing for a driver.
I just hope there's no truth in the rumors that Martin Whitmarsh has been seen in a Lufthansa ticket office with a copy of Percy Throwers Joy of Gardening tucked under his arm.
Il_leone
World Champion
Being on garden leave means Lowe can't turn up at the Mclaren HQ but is being paid still not to come into the office
This obviously has something to do with his work contract notice period must be at 6 months I guess and seeing he is going to work for a competitor then best to isolate him away from the team
lets not mention spying !
This obviously has something to do with his work contract notice period must be at 6 months I guess and seeing he is going to work for a competitor then best to isolate him away from the team
lets not mention spying !
