Lewis Hamilton has decided to move away from McLaren and has signed a 3-year deal to drive for Mercedes in 2013-15, partnering Nico Rosberg.
The move by Lewis Hamilton was announced early this morning and is set to trigger a flurry of activity throughout Formula 1.
Lewis Hamilton
It means that Michael Schumacher will have to leave Mercedes. It isn’t known whether he will retire for the second time or join another team. Sauber and Ferrari have been suggested as possibilities by pundits.
It has also been revealed that McLaren have signed Sergio Perez, who currently drives for Sauber, as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 F1 word champion, said: "It is now time for me to take on a fresh challenge and I am very excited to begin a new chapter.
Mercedes-Benz has such an incredible heritage in motorsport, along with a passion for winning which I share.
Together, we can grow and rise to this new challenge. I believe that I can help steer the Silver Arrows to the top and achieve our joint ambitions of winning the world championships."
Ross Brawn, the boss of the Mercedes F1 team, commented: "I believe that the combination of Lewis and Nico will be the most dynamic and exciting pairing on the grid next year and I am looking forward to what we can achieve together.
Over the past three years, we have been putting in place the foundations and building blocks that are needed to compete regularly for the world championship. The potential is now there to match any other team on the grid."
The decision to switch teams by Lewis Hamilton comes as a disappointment to McLaren, who will have to manage without his inspirational talent, especially since he’s been part of the McLaren family since he was thirteen years old.
Martin Whitmarsh, who is the boss of the McLaren team, remarked that Lewis Hamilton had written "a huge chapter of his life and career with us", and that: "It goes without saying that we all wish him well for the future."
The Guardian stated that “Hamilton will sign for Mercedes on a three-year deal worth £15m a year. The irony of that is that it is not significantly more than Hamilton is being paid at the moment. He is coming to the end of a five-year deal that has been repeatedly reported as being worth £75m, or £15m a year, but which in fact is worth about £13m-£14m per annum.”
Lewis Hamilton is thought to be on a salary of £9.75 million for this year, but McLaren said that they couldn’t afford to pay him that much next year.
Not only will Lewis Hamilton receive a larger salary at Mercedes, but there will be much more opportunity for him to make money through personal sponsorships and endorsements.
At McLaren he was prohibited from promoting anything that competed with one of the team’s many sponsors.
Despite this, sources close to Lewis Hamilton have insisted that the switch was made with long-term performance considerations in mind.
For the most part McLaren have had the quickest car this year. Mercedes have been slipping back after their only win towards the start of the season.
Mercedes told Lewis Hamilton that they were getting ready for a massive push in 2014, however, when new chassis and engine rules come into force.
At the Singapore grand prix last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton joined in a minutes silence in memory of safety pioneer, Prof. Sid Watkins who died recently.
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