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Lewis Hamilton has revealed that a joint effort from the late Niki Lauda and Ross Brawn was the reason he chose to move from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013.
In an interview with nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi, the 37-year-old shed light on some of the circumstances leading up to the moment. This includes an impromptu visit by Ross Brawn, the man behind Michael Schumacher's success at Ferrari. He also helped Jenson Button become a world champion in 2009 with Brawn GP. Hamilton said:
“Mercedes were a part of my team before. So it was McLaren and Mercedes throughout my racing career, and then they went and bought their own team. But they were really struggling. They were like the fifth-best team.”
Hamilton went on to add, saying:
“But Ross Brawn came to my house, my mom’s house in the kitchen - we had tea. He’s telling me the different things they’re doing to progress as a team, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘this is very surreal’ because I was watching the Grands Prix when, if you remember, [at] Magny-Cours when Michael [Schumacher] did four pit-stops, and just watching the championships when Michael was winning. I’m thinking, ‘now the guy is in my kitchen’, or my mom’s kitchen, wanting me to join the team, which was really awesome. It was Ross [who convinced me]. And Niki Lauda.”
Lewis Hamilton won one world championship with McLaren between 2007 and 2012. The Briton took a gamble by joining the Silver Arrows one season before the start of the Turbo Hybrid era. Needless to say, that gamble paid off spectacularly for the Briton.
"Their comments are silly and a bunch of nonsense" - Lewis Hamilton hits back at former world champion after criticism
Lewis Hamilton has hit back at two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen after the Finn suggested retirement as an option for the Mercedes driver in the wake of the Imola GP.
Having seen the 37-year-old struggle around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the Mercedes W13, Hakkinen surmised that Hamilton would be sulking after a disastrous race weekend. The Finn said:
“For Lewis [Hamilton], this is a disaster. And with George [Russell] being ahead, it’s even worse. I wonder how Lewis behaves in the team meetings - I bet he’s sulking. I can imagine the sulking. There’s a lot of complaining and whining. And now starts the natural thought process of drivers. ‘Should I go somewhere else?’ He’s been at Mercedes for years and won multiple championships. Now that things are not going well, he’ll start thinking of switching teams.”
The Briton responded to these comments by saying:
“So, I’ve seen a couple of comments from certain individuals that I remember growing up respecting when I was younger. But ultimately their comments are silly and a bunch of nonsense all in the aim to get themselves headlines to get themselves relevant.”
Lewis Hamilton maintains he is 100% committed to the Silver Arrows but also admitted that he is out of the title challenge for the 2022 season.
