Anyone thinking that Lewis moving to Merc is a disaster is not looking at the near future
Whennew engines are introduced, the best place to be will be at a team with 'works' status
McLaren will be customers of Merc, and not preffered customers either, thy will be just like Force India, now imagine Sam and Martin integrating a new engine with the same efficiency as they brought to bear on pitstops etc
At that rate it will be 2 seasons before they are competitive again
And thats assuming Merc will supply their customers with exactly the same spec engine as they supply their works team. Thats never gonna happen in a month of Sundays. Merc will not be as forthcomming with the help McLaren will need.
Also if they transfer focus and funds to turning Lewis into a champ, firstly Lewis will be paid what he deserves - The most in the paddock, and also like MS at Ferrari, he will have Ross Brawn as well as MS to shape his success
So even if he challenges for a couple of years, once RB starts with a clean slate with the new regs, Lewis' Merc team will be the place to be
And we will see how McLaren get on with Di Resta leading the team
Cookin, the only disaster as I see it is on a personal front. I've been a McLaren fan for years, mostly because of the drivers, all of whom I've been fans—Senna, Mika, Montoya and now Lewis. This time, I go where Lewis goes. 1. I don't see any other driver joining McLaren that would warrant me being overly enthusiastic about them. 2. I've reached my limit this season with the rubbish that the team has done (the pit-stop blunders, qualifying fuel cockups, etc.). If Lewis stays, then I stay to support him.
With that said, the bigger picture is Lewis' need to want a business decision with sport coming second. At this stage of his career, I suspect it is a good decision, especially with comments from Uncle Ron taking a bullish stance on business first. Fair enough. Lewis is a World Champion so if nothing else, he can go after the pay packet, factory team environment and all that comes with it. They have very clever aero developers and as stated earlier, have an advantage of the new factory engines. I suspect, if Mercedes wish to stamp their mark on F1 for the future, they may play hardball with their engine supply, bring in a hard charger like Lewis and increase their aero resources. I think they are taking a very stern view about winning ala Braun GP of a few years ago...but this time, with the Mercedes/AMG brand. This is what Lewis/his management may be exploring.
In the end, if Lewis stays, he has some rationale to support that decision. If he goes to Mercedes/AMG, I wouldn't hold my head in shock and awe. I could envisage a WDC within two years of a move.
I'm just saying...