Brawn, not Lauda, convinced Hamilton to switch to Mercedes

  • Published on 09 Nov 2017 12:27
  • comments 3
  • By: Rob Veenstra

Lewis Hamilton has corrected the industry-standard story about how he decided to switch from McLaren to Mercedes some years ago. According to the paddock grapevine and also the F1 legend himself, it was Niki Lauda who joined Hamilton late at night in a hotel room to convince him to make the switch for 2013.

"I love Niki and I have a great relationship with him," Hamilton, the new four-time world champion, told Brazil's Globo. "But the truth is that it was not Niki who convinced me to go to Mercedes. It was Ross Brawn. He came to my mother's house, we were having tea in the kitchen and I was like 'Why does the guy I saw on TV leading guys like Schumacher want me on his team?' It didn't make sense to me," Hamilton explained.

Brawn, now the F1 sporting boss, was once held senior positions at Ferrari and Mercedes. "That was the key day that convinced me to go to Mercedes," Hamilton added.

The 32-year-old has already wrapped up the 2017 title, but he has vowed to race on and even wants to extend his current Mercedes contract beyond next year. Hamilton said: "The question is how much longer I want to commit to this sport. I know it won't be much longer because I also want to do other things like having a family and business. There are other challenges for me," he insisted. (GMM)

RogerF1

Posts: 501

And there lies a point about whether Hamilton is the best ever, ... "how much longer I want to commit to the sport." I doubt he will have the stamina or drive to reach Schumacher's seven.

  • 1
  • Nov 9 2017 - 21:31

Replies (3)

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  • "Niki Lauda who joined Hamilton late at night in a hotel room to convince him to make the switch for 2013." Oh he was convincing, alright. ;)

    • + 0
    • Nov 9 2017 - 15:31
  • RogerF1

    Posts: 501

    And there lies a point about whether Hamilton is the best ever, ... "how much longer I want to commit to the sport." I doubt he will have the stamina or drive to reach Schumacher's seven.

    • + 1
    • Nov 9 2017 - 21:31
  • blade

    Posts: 341

    Roger - I strongly suspect he will keep going until he is top of all the key stats in F1 - I see 92 race wins in his sights now.

    • + 0
    • Nov 11 2017 - 08:30

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