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[McLaren Fan]

I am not basing my assertions on the recent newspaper reports. I'm basing them on facts, rumours, insights etc. gained over Hamilton's career. Anybody who thinks Hamilton won't drop McLaren when a better deal comes along is, frankly, deluded. I don't blame Hamilton for looking out for himself, I'm just fed up of listening to his platitudes and McLaren going out of their way for him. Even Hakkinen was not given anything like the special employee status Hamilton gets, and he genuinely was loyal to the team!

[Gaz]

It's such a great car he can't wait to bail out of McLaren.

Thank-you for that, our resident expert in talking B0llocks

Do you really think Lewis is so loyal to the team that he won't leave if he can find something better?

Hes a racing driver and a compatative one at that if Mclaren have a run of bad cars i don't think he'll stick around.

But if the cars are good then he will stay.

The was talk of button leaving honda in 07/08 after the cars they produced were basicly s***.

But on this speculation regarding him leaving i think its bollacks since his dad (and manager) has denied it.

Mm hmm. So why put on the show like he does?

I don't follow?

[Gaz]

I am not basing my assertions on the recent newspaper reports. I'm basing them on facts, rumours, insights etc. gained over Hamilton's career. Anybody who thinks Hamilton won't drop McLaren when a better deal comes along is, frankly, deluded. I don't blame Hamilton for looking out for himself, I'm just fed up of listening to his platitudes and McLaren going out of their way for him. Even Hakkinen was given anything like the special employee status Hamilton gets, and he genuinely was loyal to the team!

Yeh i get your point but Lewis has been with the team Longer than Mika i guess.

Also he brings in alot more sponsorship money.

Don't get me wrong i agree with what your saying but its business isn't it the need to keep him happy.

[Denthúl]

I am not basing my assertions on the recent newspaper reports. I'm basing them on facts, rumours, insights etc. gained over Hamilton's career. Anybody who thinks Hamilton won't drop McLaren when a better deal comes along is, frankly, deluded. I don't blame Hamilton for looking out for himself, I'm just fed up of listening to his platitudes and McLaren going out of their way for him. Even Hakkinen was given anything like the special employee status Hamilton gets, and he genuinely was loyal to the team!

Indeed. Had he not been spooked by his accident, I reckon Mika would've continued in the sport for longer (denying Raikkonen a place next to DC, mind you) and would've done so with McLaren.

It's such a great car he can't wait to bail out of McLaren.

Thank-you for that, our resident expert in talking B0llocks

Do you really think Lewis is so loyal to the team that he won't leave if he can find something better?

Hes a racing driver and a compatative one at that if Mclaren have a run of bad cars i don't think he'll stick around.

But if the cars are good then he will stay.

The was talk of button leaving honda in 07/08 after the cars they produced were basicly s***.

But on this speculation regarding him leaving i think its bollacks since his dad (and manager) has denied it.

Mm hmm. So why put on the show like he does?

I don't follow?

If he's not genuinely loyal to the team, why does he feel the need for comments such as "I'll never leave McLaren"?

I am not basing my assertions on the recent newspaper reports. I'm basing them on facts, rumours, insights etc. gained over Hamilton's career. Anybody who thinks Hamilton won't drop McLaren when a better deal comes along is, frankly, deluded. I don't blame Hamilton for looking out for himself, I'm just fed up of listening to his platitudes and McLaren going out of their way for him. Even Hakkinen was given anything like the special employee status Hamilton gets, and he genuinely was loyal to the team!

Yeh i get your point but Lewis has been with the team Longer than Mika i guess.

Also he brings in alot more sponsorship money.

Don't get me wrong i agree with what your saying but its business isn't it the need to keep him happy.

Mika was with the team from 1992 to 2001. That's a long time. And he did bring them quite a lot. Two of McLaren-Mercedes' drivers' titles and their only constructors' title. If that's not worth special treatment, then I don't know what is.

Edit: 1993, sorry.

[IceManpjn]

I Laugh At The Big Teams Failures

Isn't it great to see such teams as Brawn GP, Toyota, Red Bull and Williams outperforming their bigger counterparts.

Not exactly. I'm happy for their successes but I don't laugh at folks when they're down. If you and I are running a foot race and you fall flat on your face, I'll be happy to win but won't laugh at you for being down, and I won't laugh at the misfortunes (or however else you'd like to see it) of Ferrari or McLaren. While I'd love to see Hamilton dominating, I am genuinely happy to see some of the other teams and drivers (outside Ferrari and McLaren) having some time to shine. It shows that there's talent all across the grid and that any team has a serious chance at victory, and that it isn't just Ferrari and McLaren's show, and I'm happy for that, but again I don't laugh at anybody's misfortunes. Laughing at people (or teams) when they're down is just being a douche bag.

[McLaren Fan]

The team can keep Hamilton happy without offering him complimentary McLaren F1s and taking the bullet for him time and again. Although Hamilton is a great driver, there are other talented guys about who would be much less difficult to deal with. I want him to stay at the team, but I don't think McLaren should sell their soul to make him.

[McLaren Fan]

Mika was with the team from 1992 to 2001. That's a long time. And he did bring them quite a lot. Two of McLaren-Mercedes' drivers' titles and their only constructors' title. If that's not worth special treatment, then I don't know what is.

Edit: 1993, sorry.

Yes, and he raced for Mercedes in the DTM for several years afterwards. I think he still has a involvement with them as well, even though he's retired from racing and involved in driver management.

[Denthúl]

The team can keep Hamilton happy without offering him complimentary McLaren F1s and taking the bullet for him time and again. Although Hamilton is a great driver, there are other talented guys about who would be much less difficult to deal with. I want him to stay at the team, but I don't think McLaren should sell their soul to make him.

Indeed. Vettel or Rosberg would fit in to his seat, and it would make Mercedes happy to have a German driver in there. He will need to watch himself.

I do wonder why he gets such special treatment, to be honest. It's very different from how McLaren were pre-Lewis.

Mika was with the team from 1992 to 2001. That's a long time. And he did bring them quite a lot. Two of McLaren-Mercedes' drivers' titles and their only constructors' title. If that's not worth special treatment, then I don't know what is.

Edit: 1993, sorry.

Yes, and he raced for Mercedes in the DTM for several years afterwards. I think he still has a involvement with them as well, even though he's retired from racing and involved in driver management.

I think he's done some promotional events. Driving the MP4-23 in an event in Singapore, for example. Also, his DTM performances were pretty good. I watched him take his first win

[McLaren Fan]

I think he's done some promotional events. Driving the MP4-23 in an event in Singapore, for example. Also, his DTM performances were pretty good. I watched him take his first win

It took him a while to get used to the cars, but after that he was very good. Returning to his Formula One career, it's also worth pointing out he stayed with McLaren when there better offers on the table. Rather than jump ship, he stuck with McLaren and helped get the team back on its feet again. He developed a pretty close relationship with Mercedes as well, really helping bed in the McLaren-Mercedes alliance. When you consider Hakkinen's ability as a driver, two world titles actually seems rather inadequate. Had he been more selfish, he'd have won a couple more.

[Denthúl]

I think he's done some promotional events. Driving the MP4-23 in an event in Singapore, for example. Also, his DTM performances were pretty good. I watched him take his first win

It took him a while to get used to the cars, but after that he was very good. Returning to his Formula One career, it's also worth pointing out he stayed with McLaren when there better offers on the table. Rather than jump ship, he stuck with McLaren and helped get the team back on its feet again. He developed a pretty close relationship with Mercedes as well, really helping bed in the McLaren-Mercedes alliance. When you consider Hakkinen's ability as a driver, two world titles actually seems rather inadequate. Had he been more selfish, he'd have won a couple more.

Yeah. In one way, it's a shame that he was only a double-champion, but what he did makes that irrelevant. They were good times

[Jensonb]

I am not basing my assertions on the recent newspaper reports. I'm basing them on facts, rumours, insights etc. gained over Hamilton's career. Anybody who thinks Hamilton won't drop McLaren when a better deal comes along is, frankly, deluded. I don't blame Hamilton for looking out for himself, I'm just fed up of listening to his platitudes and McLaren going out of their way for him. Even Hakkinen was not given anything like the special employee status Hamilton gets, and he genuinely was loyal to the team!

The question is, would any of the top teams have Hamilton? They all have their Stars, and some of them seem to have already poached Stars in advance (The Scuderia with Alonso for example). I can't see a seat that works for him anywhere but McLaren, unless we start talking Toyota in Trulli's seat (Which would likely mean bye-bye Mr. Glock) or Renault to replace Alonso - and given their recent form, it's not a move he'd make.

[Gaz]

The question is, would any of the top teams have Hamilton? They all have their Stars, and some of them seem to have already poached Stars in advance (The Scuderia with Alonso for example). I can't see a seat that works for him anywhere but McLaren, unless we start talking Toyota in Trulli's seat (Which would likely mean bye-bye Mr. Glock) or Renault to replace Alonso - and given their recent form, it's not a move he'd make.

Hamilton beat Alonso in the same car.

When Kimi Retires given the choice between Alonso and Hamilton i'd expect they would choose Hamilton.

1. He'd Bring in more Sponsorshop Value
2. He's as fast if no faster.

But i think he will remain with Mclaren

[Jensonb]

The question is, would any of the top teams have Hamilton? They all have their Stars, and some of them seem to have already poached Stars in advance (The Scuderia with Alonso for example). I can't see a seat that works for him anywhere but McLaren, unless we start talking Toyota in Trulli's seat (Which would likely mean bye-bye Mr. Glock) or Renault to replace Alonso - and given their recent form, it's not a move he'd make.

Hamilton beat Alonso in the same car.

When Kimi Retires given the choice between Alonso and Hamilton i'd expect they would choose Hamilton.

1. He'd Bring in more Sponsorshop Value
2. He's as fast if no faster.

But i think he will remain with Mclaren

Hamilton did not beat Fernando in the same car.

Nor would Hamilton bring in more sponsorship value, since Alonso could lure Santander and possibly return Vodafone to the Scuderia.

[EwanM]

It won't be a choice between Alonso and Hamilton.
Because the deal is done

[Jensonb]

It won't be a choice between Alonso and Hamilton.
Because the deal is done

Indeed so.

Apparently the Santander deal is too - and possibly also the Vodafone one.