Will Hamilton quit Merc if he doesnt win WDC?

[CHT]

The flare up between Hamilton and Rosberg at Monaco and Niki Lauder open criticism of Lewis podium behavior does make me wonder if Lewis will actually leave Merc if he doesnt win the WDC this year.

And if Lewis does leave at the end of the season, where do you think he will go? Back to Mclaren?

And who do you think will most likely to replace him at Merc?

[MercedesAMGSpy]

And what do you think if Rosberg doesn't win the title? Lewis will stay at Mercedes, the big boss Zetsche is one of his best friends.

[mertol]

He is not going anywhere and Nico can't win he can't cause yellows at every track.

[CHT]

And what do you think if Rosberg doesn't win the title? Lewis will stay at Mercedes, the big boss Zetsche is one of his best friends.

I actually think Rosberg, being a German, will have a slight upper hand when it comes to relationship with the Merc bosses. But Lewis certainly has got better commercial value, IF he can keep his cool.

Since when did Lewis and Zetsche become best friends?

[CHT]

He is not going anywhere and Nico can't win he can't cause yellows at every track.

If Alonso can quit Mclaren after 1 season, I dont see why Lewis couldnt or wont quit if he doesnt get what he want.

Actually the situation at Merc right now is very similar to the time when Alonso was at Mclaren.

Alonso (WDC) vs Lewis (Brit) in British Team
Lewis (WDC) vs Rosberg (German) in German Team.

[xxChrisxx]

I don't understand why anyone would think he'd leave. Hamilton does come across as slightly petulant, but he's certainly not stupid.

As your question begs the obvious next one:
Where would he go? Lets have a look at the options.

Ferrari - nowhere, plus Alonso so no.

Red Bull - only likely candidate for WDC challenge. But red bull are pretty much a closed shop so no.

McLaren - not quite as good as they think they are. Have a habit of blow chances to win. Currently in poor form, rapidly becoming a midfield team. Doubt Honda power can bail them out. So no.

Force India - on the up but still a midfield team. Not got the financial clout. So no.

You don't have to be Sherlock Homes to deduce that Mercedes is the only place to be for a WDC challenge.

[SGeorge]

Ham needs to win the Championship - he is earning double Rosberg's salary, and comes with heavy expectation on him. I fully expect him to win it, but the reality is there is more pressure on Ham than Rosberg.

Hamilton has very few options, he is in the best place he can possibly be - he just needs to realise this, and keep the peace!

[Just_a_fan]

Mercedes is a German team in name only. There is a handful of Germans in senior posts but the people who make the thing work are British. The engineers are the ones who make or break the team's overall performance, not the top two or three figureheads.

Anyway, I have no doubt that the guys at the top actually don't care which one wins so long as one of them does.

[CHT]

Mercedes is a German team in name only. There is a handful of Germans in senior posts but the people who make the thing work are British. The engineers are the ones who make or break the team's overall performance, not the top two or three figureheads.

Anyway, I have no doubt that the guys at the top actually don't care which one wins so long as one of them does.

Mercedes is very particular about their brand image and that' cannot be taken lightly . Engineers might be british and they are based in UK, but the system could be very European, especially when you have Austrians like Toto and Niki running the teams.

[mnmracer]

It kind of remind me of how he was in 2012, but back then he had more options. I think he's smart enough to realize another break-up wouldn't be too beneficial to anyone. If tensions keep up, they'll just have to do a Webber-Vettel: send each other a christmas card, and ignore each other.

[dans79]

Mercedes is a German team in name only. There is a handful of Germans in senior posts but the people who make the thing work are British. The engineers are the ones who make or break the team's overall performance, not the top two or three figureheads.

Anyway, I have no doubt that the guys at the top actually don't care which one wins so long as one of them does.

Mercedes is very particular about their brand image and that' cannot be taken lightly . Engineers might be british and they are based in UK, but the system could be very European, especially when you have Austrians like Toto and Niki running the teams.

America is Mercedes biggest market (at least it was 2 years ago), and Lewis & Lauda are much better known than Nico & Wolff.

The way it's been playing out here in the press and blogosphere is that Lewis is the faster working class kid that wears his heart on his sleeve, while Nico is the entitled rich kid who is favored by Wollf and needs to see use his teammates telemetry to keep up.

I'm think the Merc board might care about how the feud plays out in America more than they do in Europe, because they are just starting to gain traction in the younger demographics who saw them as the rich old person brand.

[CHT]

Mercedes is a German team in name only. There is a handful of Germans in senior posts but the people who make the thing work are British. The engineers are the ones who make or break the team's overall performance, not the top two or three figureheads.

Anyway, I have no doubt that the guys at the top actually don't care which one wins so long as one of them does.

Mercedes is very particular about their brand image and that' cannot be taken lightly . Engineers might be british and they are based in UK, but the system could be very European, especially when you have Austrians like Toto and Niki running the teams.

America is Mercedes biggest market (at least it was 2 years ago), and Lewis & Lauda are much better known than Nico & Wolff.

The way it's been playing out here in the press and blogosphere is that Lewis is the faster working class kid that wears his heart on his sleeve, while Nico is the entitled rich kid who is favored by Wollf and needs to see use his teammates telemetry to keep up.

I'm think the Merc board might care about how the feud plays out in America more than they do in Europe, because they are just starting to gain traction in the younger demographics who saw them as the rich old person brand.

Unfortunately or fortunately for Mercs, they are not really in the business of selling cars for the working class, so it shouldnt really matter if Lewis or Nico win the championship. With media attention zooming into the team, its now even more important for Merc not to allow the rivalry between the 2 drivers to get our of control or it will severely tarnish their brand image. I believe Merc biggest fear is Lewis Mouth, rather than his driving. Openly criticizing the team on the radio and interview is certainly not something merc will take it likely.

Actually the reason why Merc is gaining traction in the younger demographics is not all because of Lewis, its actually a collective planned effort by Merc to revamp their car designs and offering to make it more trendy and appealing to younger buyers.

[dans79]

America is Mercedes biggest market (at least it was 2 years ago), and Lewis & Lauda are much better known than Nico & Wolff.

The way it's been playing out here in the press and blogosphere is that Lewis is the faster working class kid that wears his heart on his sleeve, while Nico is the entitled rich kid who is favored by Wollf and needs to see use his teammates telemetry to keep up.

I'm think the Merc board might care about how the feud plays out in America more than they do in Europe, because they are just starting to gain traction in the younger demographics who saw them as the rich old person brand.

Unfortunately or fortunately for Mercs, they are not really in the business of selling cars for the working class, so it shouldnt really matter if Lewis or Nico win the championship. With media attention zooming into the team, its now even more important for Merc not to allow the rivalry between the 2 drivers to get our of control or it will severely tarnish their brand image. I believe Merc biggest fear is Lewis Mouth, rather than his driving. Openly criticizing the team on the radio and interview is certainly not something merc will take it likely.

Actually the reason why Merc is gaining traction in the younger demographics is not all because of Lewis, its actually a collective planned effort by Merc to revamp their car designs and offering to make it more trendy and appealing to younger buyers.

Perhaps we have a different definition of working class, but the single mom secretary at my office drives a merc, as well as some other people I know. Of course who wins the championship has no effect on car sales, but how the team goes about it's business does. Most Americans have a strong dislike for big business and executives trying manipulate things to favor them. Even if they aren't , just the perception that they are can cause an uproar. I think that is where Wolff has to be careful, as he seems to favor Nico, but more importantly he comes off as trying to control every little detail. In the long run I think that will actually work in Lewis's favor.

As a point of reference, think back to how it was when it was perceived that Dennis preferred Hamilton over Alonso.

[Shrieker]

Will Hamilton quit Merc if he doesnt win WDC?

That's quite simply nonsensical. It'll take massive bad luck for Hamilton to lose the wdc to Rosberg. Lewis has clearly demonstrated he's faster and the better racer. If he loses because of bad luck, then so what. Of course he'll be upset, but Merc. are not looking very likely to lose their position at the top the next season - Lewis will simply be out in full force to regain the title.

But i don't think he'll lose it this year anyway.

but the reality is there is more pressure on Ham than Rosberg.

I can't disagree more. Hamilton is already a wdc. Rosberg is not. And he knows he has to pull out something very, very special to beat Lewis over the full course of the season. Which is more pressure me thinks.

[gray41]

Do people forget he just won 4 on the bounce prior to Monaco, who's to say he won't win the next 5? Which will make threads like this look pretty stupid.