Silly season 2024-2025

[Just_a_fan]

Lewis turned round and said the McLaren looks like a Red Bull. Yet to see any resemblance there.

I mean if its all because Merc haven't give him a car that isn't capable of putting it on the top step of the podium then it seems a bit of a 'bitter' way to try and negotiate a contract. Maybe there's a BIG win/podium bonus attached to his contract and it hasn't been paying. I cant see the likes of Verstappen and Lewis getting 40million a year if they always finishing 4th or 5th each season. I dare bet that 40million is made up of win bonuses etc. Say a base contract of 20million a year, and the remaining 20million is split between 20-odd races each season.

He was on base salary + result bonus before, I believe he wanted to go to "all in the salary" as there hasn't been much result bonus available. That's going to be talking point for lots of reasons.

Likely the sticking point. The article someone posted before in the Merc thread? said that Toto and Lewis use that 'Penny' as they dont like talking money between friends.
So it would seem, in my opinion, that Mercedes aren't going to be paying top dollar for a driver that's not putting it on the top step of the podium any more. Toto/Merc might have said, Look Lewis, we aren't getting the wins, as the cars not properly competitive with Red Bull, so we dont think your worth the £40million/year to finish P4-6 with the occasional podium thrown in the mix. George is on £8m/year and Lewis near enough 5x that amount. Its a lot to spend on a driver getting an occasional podium over the last 2 seasons. Of course there's the fan base and budget the marketing brings aswell from Lewis.

Tough one - clearly Lewis isn't happy with the offer Mercedes have come back with - which is going to be based marginally on the results the team are having. Lewis thinks i'm worth this much, Mercedes say X amount less. Makes perfect sense if he wanted to move away from base + results style to a full salary. As irrespective of whether he come first or 10th all season, he would get the same money being on a 'all in' contract.

Thing is....who would want to pay £40million/year for Lewis. That's the big question. Only the likes of Ferrari - but I cant see them spending twice what they paying Charles for Lewis coming to the end of his career.

Lewis's response to that will be - give me a competitive car and I'll give you another title.

As for Ferrari, if they thought they could secure a title with Lewis, they'd pay him the money.

[chrisc90]

Is george on 8m a year? That's a steal. Poor guy got roped in for pennies on the dollar . He should be 14-15m at least.

Apparently.

https://racingnews365.com/f1-driver-salaries-2023

Dollars so probably less in UK money - or Monaco currency I guess most be paid in lol

[Stu]

Still amazed this Lewis contract is taking so long to solve given they both want to be there.
For what was meant to be something straightforward, there seems to be something getting in the way of that signature

According to Toto it's not about money, so it must be about things such as how much time he has to give to corporate sponsor events, etc.. There was also talk about him wanting an on-going Mercedes ambassador role when he retires, but I'd be amazed if he risked his contract talks over that.

This is the weird sticking point, imo, whilst active as a driver he is reluctant to do ‘media stuff’, but wants to ‘media stuff’ when no longer active (for a very large pay-check if what is reported is correct).

[denyall]

Lewis turned round and said the McLaren looks like a Red Bull. Yet to see any resemblance there.

I mean if its all because Merc haven't give him a car that isn't capable of putting it on the top step of the podium then it seems a bit of a 'bitter' way to try and negotiate a contract. Maybe there's a BIG win/podium bonus attached to his contract and it hasn't been paying. I cant see the likes of Verstappen and Lewis getting 40million a year if they always finishing 4th or 5th each season. I dare bet that 40million is made up of win bonuses etc. Say a base contract of 20million a year, and the remaining 20million is split between 20-odd races each season.

He was on base salary + result bonus before, I believe he wanted to go to "all in the salary" as there hasn't been much result bonus available. That's going to be talking point for lots of reasons.

Likely the sticking point. The article someone posted before in the Merc thread? said that Toto and Lewis use that 'Penny' as they dont like talking money between friends.
So it would seem, in my opinion, that Mercedes aren't going to be paying top dollar for a driver that's not putting it on the top step of the podium any more. Toto/Merc might have said, Look Lewis, we aren't getting the wins, as the cars not properly competitive with Red Bull, so we dont think your worth the £40million/year to finish P4-6 with the occasional podium thrown in the mix. George is on £8m/year and Lewis near enough 5x that amount. Its a lot to spend on a driver getting an occasional podium over the last 2 seasons. Of course there's the fan base and budget the marketing brings aswell from Lewis.

Tough one - clearly Lewis isn't happy with the offer Mercedes have come back with - which is going to be based marginally on the results the team are having. Lewis thinks i'm worth this much, Mercedes say X amount less. Makes perfect sense if he wanted to move away from base + results style to a full salary. As irrespective of whether he come first or 10th all season, he would get the same money being on a 'all in' contract.

Thing is....who would want to pay £40million/year for Lewis. That's the big question. Only the likes of Ferrari - but I cant see them spending twice what they paying Charles for Lewis coming to the end of his career.

Lewis is in the top 10 athletes in terms of marketing value. He's the only F1 driver everyone (non-motorsports fans) knows. His association with Mercedes and their partner brands is worth 40 million without even driving...

[UlleGulle]

Still amazed this Lewis contract is taking so long to solve given they both want to be there.
For what was meant to be something straightforward, there seems to be something getting in the way of that signature

Just pure speculation, but the sticking point might be an exit clause for Hamilton. If he wins that eight championship, he's the undisputable GOAT. In that case, he might not see the point in carrying on.

Toto, on the other hand, might not be in the mood for hitting the drivers market late 2025 with the new engine regulations coming 2026.

[Just_a_fan]

Still amazed this Lewis contract is taking so long to solve given they both want to be there.
For what was meant to be something straightforward, there seems to be something getting in the way of that signature

According to Toto it's not about money, so it must be about things such as how much time he has to give to corporate sponsor events, etc.. There was also talk about him wanting an on-going Mercedes ambassador role when he retires, but I'd be amazed if he risked his contract talks over that.

This is the weird sticking point, imo, whilst active as a driver he is reluctant to do ‘media stuff’, but wants to ‘media stuff’ when no longer active (for a very large pay-check if what is reported is correct).

Not that weird. There are only so many hours in a week and during the season he's spending a lot of those hours in the sim, at the track, etc. (as all drivers are, of course). So the other hours are precious down time. But once he's retired, he'll have some of those hours available to do money-creating media stuff.

Work-life balance, as it's known.

[AR3-GP]

Rumor has it that Lewis Hamilton is making his contract negotiations with Mercedes drag on longer to see if Red Bull would hire him in 2025.

https://www.autoracing1.com/pl/408512/r ... p-exposed/

It's flagged as "Speculation" and "rumor". Beware.

[denyall]

Rumor has it that Lewis Hamilton is making his contract negotiations with Mercedes drag on longer to see if Red Bull would hire him in 2025.

https://www.autoracing1.com/pl/408512/r ... p-exposed/

It's flagged as "Speculation" and "rumor". Beware.

Speculation in rumor doing a lot of work on that one

[Just_a_fan]

Rumor has it that Lewis Hamilton is making his contract negotiations with Mercedes drag on longer to see if Red Bull would hire him in 2025.

https://www.autoracing1.com/pl/408512/r ... p-exposed/

It's flagged as "Speculation" and "rumor". Beware.

That's basically a click bait story, isn't it?

[AR3-GP]

Rumor has it that Lewis Hamilton is making his contract negotiations with Mercedes drag on longer to see if Red Bull would hire him in 2025.

https://www.autoracing1.com/pl/408512/r ... p-exposed/

It's flagged as "Speculation" and "rumor". Beware.

That's basically a click bait story, isn't it?

For what it’s worth, Christian Horner said something very intriguing the other day

https://www.planetf1.com/news/sergio-pe ... bull-2025/

He said (paraphrasing) that “theres interest from other drivers outside of the spectrum for 2025”. As in, Perez and Ricciardo are not the only contenders for 2025 seat.

RB might want to make history with a titanic lineup like Mclaren many decades ago. I’m sure Christian would enjoy taking Hamilton away from Toto in a bit of pettiness too if he could

[Just_a_fan]

RB might want to make history with a titanic lineup like Mclaren many decades ago. I’m sure Christian would enjoy taking Hamilton away from Toto in a bit of pettiness too if he could

I'm sure Toto would have the last laugh - can you imagine managing that pair of drivers?

[AR3-GP]

RB might want to make history with a titanic lineup like Mclaren many decades ago. I’m sure Christian would enjoy taking Hamilton away from Toto in a bit of pettiness too if he could

I'm sure Toto would have the last laugh - can you imagine managing that pair of drivers?

I'm not sure Toto would be laughing so much as crying... . He's got no one that could touch that line up.

Maybe Mick and De Vries that he's been waxing poetic about? lol

[Just_a_fan]

RB might want to make history with a titanic lineup like Mclaren many decades ago. I’m sure Christian would enjoy taking Hamilton away from Toto in a bit of pettiness too if he could

I'm sure Toto would have the last laugh - can you imagine managing that pair of drivers?

I'm not sure Toto would be laughing so much as crying... . He's got no one that could touch that line up.

Maybe Mick and De Vries that he's been waxing poetic about? lol

Er, remember 2007 when Kimi took the title because the two fastest guys on the grid were fighting each other? That's the likely scenario here - someone would sneak through whilst Max and Lewis are fighting each other tooth and nail.

[AR3-GP]

Er, remember 2007 when Kimi took the title because the two fastest guys on the grid were fighting each other? That's the likely scenario here - someone would sneak through whilst Max and Lewis are fighting each other tooth and nail.

Yes but then there's 2014-2016 when Hamilton and Rosberg bludgeoned the field anyway because the car was so good.

The purpose of Hamilton going to RB would be because Mercedes cannot provide him with a competitive car. That would be why Hamilton would look outside, and what would create the conditions for the rumor I mentioned above.

[Willy]

Er, remember 2007 when Kimi took the title because the two fastest guys on the grid were fighting each other? That's the likely scenario here - someone would sneak through whilst Max and Lewis are fighting each other tooth and nail.

Yes but then there's 2014-2016 when Hamilton and Rosberg bludgeoned the field anyway because the car was so good.

The purpose of Hamilton going to RB would be because Mercedes cannot provide him with a competitive car. That would be why Hamilton would look outside, and what would create the conditions for the rumor I mentioned above.

If Lewis is serious about winning another title, obviously he will look for an opportunity at Red Bull as Mercedes doesn't look like they can build one for the time being. It's entirely another thing if Horner wants him. He didn't take Prime Lewis when Vettel was winning for Red Bull and I am not sure if he would take him now.