Lewis in private talks with Christian Horner

[Andyoak]

Although we'll never really know, Mark's assessment does seem reasonable / plausible.

Button has 'been there done that' when compared against Lewis through nothing other than age. Likewise, Button appears more personable and probably plays the political game better.

I feel sure that Lewis does feel less loved than he did under Ron but maybe that is because Martin Whitmarsh really does make an effort to encourage an equal driver policy; something Ron is infamous for only paying lip service to (eg. Coulthard ./ Hakkinen / Kimi). However, I don't think that Lewis will be given true number one status in any of the teams he would consider driving for at this time. It will take less effort to turn around any perceived lack of support in McLaren than it will be to build new support in a new team. That is why I think he'd be better off with the devil he knows for the time being.

Sarinaide, I do think you're wrong in the way you dismiss Button; there have been and will be less deserving (horrible turn of phrase) champions than him. Likewise there have been many drivers who should have been champions but weren't. In my opinion, to be a champion takes more than showmanship and straight driving skill; you also need political skills to get the team behind you; mental skills to manage the pressures; and many others that I suspect none of us know of or will ever need to call on.

At the risk of upsetting you I believe Button shares and equals many of the skills and talents that Alonso has; but where they differ is that Button seems to need more pressure before 'switching it on'. For some reason Button only pulls out the best when his back is up against the wall (recently in Canada and in his championship year)... very frustrating for those who enjoy following him.

 

[Sarinaide]

At the risk of upsetting you I believe Button shares and equals many of the skills and talents that Alonso has; but where they differ is that Button seems to need more pressure before 'switching it on'. For some reason Button only pulls out the best when his back is up against the wall (recently in Canada and in his championship year)... very frustrating for those who enjoy following him.

I agree, the two best pure drivers on the grid, probably not the most exciting though.

I think the big differance is Alonso is more competitively driven, in the past he has made an ass of himself in the process, but to be the man you have to have some kind of competitive drive. I think that Alonso changed a lot after 2007 which was perhaps the humbling year after back to back victories against Schumacher.

I would like to see Alonso and Button in the same team.

 

[Sarinaide]

Back to Lewis Hamilton, I made the point earlier, maybe for him a move is the right tonic, I don't think he has matured since 2007 and is a his way kind of guy, that said, it makes him the driver he is.....I really cannot see a Buttonesque Lewis without packing up into laughter.

 

[Andyoak]

I think you're right there on Lewis's maturity.
And I think Button and Alonso could be a very interesting partnership... but I can't see it happening at Ferrari and I can't see Alonso leaving Ferrari except to retire.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Some people seem to forget that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes chief Norbert Haug have worked together before and thats the reason i could possibly see him joining them if he is to leave Mclaren.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Some people seem to forget that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes chief Norbert Haug have worked together before and thats the reason i could possibly see him joining them if he is to leave Mclaren.

In fact, Haug just came to Lewis' defence after Canada, did he not?

 

[Quintessentially]

At the risk of upsetting you I believe Button shares and equals many of the skills and talents that Alonso has; but where they differ is that Button seems to need more pressure before 'switching it on'.

Jenson has just won a Grand Prix so naturally he’s stock has risen but had Vettel kept it on the road the view could suddenly be different. You only have to look at his recent performance in China to see the level of mediocrity Jenson can descend into. Hungaroring last year was one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen by a McLaren driver. It was a disaster to the point that he was eventually lapped in the race having qualified outside the top 10 (having checked; Hamilton qualified 5th) behind rookies like Petrov and Haulkenburg. Jenson is a poor driver by any means but he needs the car (rather than pressure) to be perfect to perform and it was a near perfect McLaren with optimum tyre temperature that allowed him to catch Vettel not pressure. I believe in tier one of the current driver line-up are Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel. Jenson will fall in tier two at best. In terms of talent and outright driving skills, he is not in Alonso’s class.

Anyway, good piece by Mark Hughes or not?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13755883.stm

 

[Il_leone]

there is no guarantee once Lewis gets in the Red Bull he will inherit Mark Webber's bad luck with kers and duffed pit stops etc...

The only I can see Lewis being the darling of Red Bull is if Vettel has a bust up with either Dieter and Helmut Marko....Helmut is the Dark Lord of Red Bull always snooping around in the background to let everyone know he is there

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

In fact, Haug just came to Lewis' defence after Canada, did he not?

He sure did!

I think Haug would absoutely love Lewis in a Mercedes car and TBH i think Hamilton working with Ross Brawn could be a winning formula.

 

[Brogan]

Off topic posts deleted.

 

[MCLS]

Mclaren are like family to Hamilton, it would be foolish for him to leave, it is where he is more comfortable and that will enable him to reach his maximum potential.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Mclaren are like family to Hamilton, it would be foolish for him to leave, it is where he is more comfortable and that will enable him to reach his maximum potential.

I agree don't get me wrong i'd love Hamilton to stay at Mclaren more. But if he was to decide he wanted to move on i'd prefer him to go to somewhere like Mercedes over the other teams.

 

[Lewywo4]

Lewis will remain at Mclaren, because he's well established and comfortable with the team, and he would never have that feeling if he went to Red Bull, while Helmut Marko is there.

 

[Quintessentially]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13755883.stm

I’m not really a big fan of Mark Hughes’s articles but in this case it is as close to a balanced assessment you'd get on Hamilton at the moment. Hamilton is well liked in Canada and there was certainly the impression that he felt the need to put on a show hence the impetuousness at the start of the race. A lot has been said about the incidents with Button and Schumacher but was it not the move on Webber that sent him down a slippery slope? As Hughes put it; it never had the possibility of coming off. Looking at the onboard footage from his car, (and he may have been braver on the brakes) he was so far back and effectively lunged into a gap that was fast disappearing. Yeah Senna talked about gaps and going for it but this is not to say he never assessed the risks, especially when it’s in the first racing lap (unless of course the implicit aim was to take out a championship rival). I am a massive fan of Hamilton’s racing style and do not believe he needs to alter it but the mindset definitely needs readjustment. I would’ve been happy to see him pull off that move on Webber in the last lap as opposed to the first. Luckily for him these misfortunes (some of it his own doing) have come early enough for him to rethink his approach unlike last season when it was too late when the errors/ill fortune crept in. McLaren needs to show him footage of his performance in the first half of last season. I feel this is how he should be driving.

 

[MCLS]

Really they need to get him into the mindset he had in the latter half of 2009 when he helped turn Mclaren from a team fighting Toro Rosso into a team fighting with Brawn and Red Bull.

 

[ramilas1]

Hamilton to leave McLaren - Fabregas to leave Arsenal .......Lewis story has catching up to do but both could run for a while!

I'm baffled as to why Hamilton would want to leave McL, unless he feels something of a complete sea-change has taken place since the departure of Dennis (although he hasn't really left, has he?) and the arrival of Button.

Maybe he just had it too easy, too early, and is now finding it difficult to adjust to not being the only focal point?

That old saying by drivers and, especially, journalists of "he just needs a car to compete for the Championship" usually means "he wants the best car where the only competition is his team-mate" and that doesn't happen every year for the same team.

Hamilton is definitely going through a testing year, as he did last year, but I hope he's mature enough to get a grip on his own mental attitude because he's a driver that F1 needs to be at his best, not always just at his bravest.

BTW, I'm no fan of McLaren (been 'tifosi' since the early 70's) and the only driver I've ever 'supported' was Swerve.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Who's 'Swerve'?

 

[sportsman]

Who's 'Swerve'?

Eddie Irvine. "Irv the swerve"

 

[RasputinLives]

Steady Eddie?

Well Ramilas I hope you don't have his dress sense.

I think if you're looking for a reason why Lewis would want to leave Mclaren all of a sudden its probably the group of people he has around him now. Simon Fuller is his new manager and where do they make the most money from a client? In signing contracts. Who's going to offer the biggest contract and thus the biggest percentage? Red Bull. Thats before you even take in the marketing. Then take in the fact that a move like that splashes Lewis and his entourage all over the papers and I'm sure there are many Lady Mcbeth whispers in Lewis ear as to why Mclaren are no good for him.

When you have that much talent everyone wants a piece of you.

 

[Road of Bones]

Good point Rasputin - no-one seems to have mentioned the Fuller angle too much. It does give you pause for thought when you consider that XIX is not a driver management company, but a "celebrity" management company. I'm sure there are people up and down the pitlane who quietly shook their heads when Lewis signed up with XIX, feeling that he'd fallen prey to the bright lights/big money instead of retaining his focus on being the best racing driver he could be.