Lewis would consider Lotus

Lotus have reportedly joined the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes on the list of teams which Lewis Hamilton could join next season.

The 27-year-old's contract with McLaren runs out at the end of the current campaign and it remains to be seen if he will stay with the team where his Formula One career started as they have struggled to supply him with a Championship-winning car in recent years.

Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull (that was before Mark Webber signed a new deal) have often been mentioned as possible destinations should he decide to quit Woking, but the Daily Mail has now thrown Lotus into the equation as well.

'Sportsmail understands that the 2008 world champion would consider a move to Lotus now that they have returned to form which propelled Fernando Alonso to two world titles in their former guise as Renault,' the paper claims.

'Lotus currently employ 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean and moving out big earner Raikkonen halfway through a two-year deal would represent an issue - as would coming close to matching Hamilton's £15million-a-year contract which expires at the end of the season.

'But there is no guarantee that McLaren are prepared to match those terms after group executive chairman Ron Dennis stated Hamilton's deal was agreed when the economic climate was very different.'

Meanwhile, team principal Martin Whitmarsh insists that McLaren's current woes won't influence Hamilton's decision.

"I think he's smarter than that," Whitmarsh is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

He added: "He's got to want to stay in this team, which I believe he does."

Source - PlanetF1

----------------------------------------------------

My take on it is, and only based on the current car/situation -

I reckon Lewis could perform very well in the Lotus and potentially be at the top of the WDC.

BUT, Grosjean and Kimi are both doing pretty good jobs and i just cant see Lotus getting shot of either of them... there's no need to replace either of them at the moment. Nor would it be fair.

Can't see it unless they are prepared to jettison Groj. However we don't know how ruthless/ambitious Lotus are prepared to be and a line up of Kimi/Hami could easily see them at the top of the constructors so never say never.

Would love to have seen Hami at the wheel of this years Lotus though - he'd be leading WDC no problem.

Firstly, never believe anything Daily Mail write. Secondly, as I said in the other topic, Kimi has a two-year contract and Grosjean is managed by Eric Boullier and is enjoying a very successful return to F1 after his previous stint. There is no way Hamilton will be joining Lotus in 2013. Hamilton has no credible offers on the table that are going to attract him. In my opinion, he's already signed the contract extension and as McLaren always do, they will delay and delay the press release and make it into some huge story for the media to scrap over. As soon as Webber signed for Red Bull, all doors were closed for Hamilton.

John wrote:and Grosjean is managed by Eric Boullier

Forgot about that.

Kimi 2 yr, Webber 1 yr, Vettel 1 yr - it'll be all change come 2014 so I'm convinced Hami's new contract will contain some pretty big performance related get out clauses.

The F1 writers on Sky's F1 show on Friday were discussing this very matter and that 2014 maybe a very significant moment in the driver market. They said that Hamilton would probably want either a one-year contract to cover the 2013 season or a multi-year deal that included a 'get-out' clause for 2014, so that he could jump ship if the promised improvements in McLaren had not been met. They then said the issue with this is that McLaren don't want to give Lewis a one-year deal or the ability to have clauses, and that they could even threaten Lewis by claiming to replace him with Di Resta and that nobody, even Lewis is irreplaceable.

I really thought the whole Lewis extension saga was probably already signed behind closed doors but now I'm having second thoughts. Also, McLaren have left themselve open by declaring a huge upgrade for Hockenheim is in place, however if that fails to deliver, what kind of a message does that send to Lewis and his on-going contract situation? It's getting messy. I still deep down think that the extension will be signed due to the lack of options but all is not well within McLaren.

Also, further news is that Romain Grosjean will have a five-place penalty for Germany due to a replacement gearbox and doesn't help their efforts in attempting to improve their qualifying stats.

Alot of reports are being bandied about citing Vettel to Ferrari in 2014 whilst Alonso has vetoed any similar move for Hamilton (although it woudnt ultimately be up to him). If true it would seem that Alonso fancies his chances against Vettel - or anyone else for that matter but another head to head with Hami is deemed too risky. A bit of a back-handed compliment.

SteveG wrote:Alot of reports are being bandied about citing Vettel to Ferrari in 2014 whilst Alonso has vetoed any similar move for Hamilton (although it wouldnt ultimately be up to him).

Yeah it is up to him He said so during the british gp build when talking about Webber

Fernando wrote:

SteveG wrote:Alot of reports are being bandied about citing Vettel to Ferrari in 2014 whilst Alonso has vetoed any similar move for Hamilton (although it wouldnt ultimately be up to him).

Yeah it is up to him He said so during the british gp build when talking about Webber

If so then I'm suprised a driver can distate to a team who they can/cannot sign. It's a bit like a football manager asking his striker if he can sign another striker.

This is just typical McLaren. How long have these contract talks been going on for? It's all just a publicity stunt to keep McLaren at the forefront of F1 discussion, at a time when they are clearly uncompetitive and not making an impact upon races. They will wait until the five week break and then a press release will be given to the media confirming Lewis has signed an extention and then all these ridiculous and unrealistic rumours can be put firmly to bed.

Why is there a problem with that?

I'm not saying there's a problem with that, I'm saying that Mclaren as a brand will use every advantage they can to keep themselves in the limelight and at the forefront of F1 discussion by delaying these talks and then releasing the news (that everyone knows it coming) at a point in time that will most benefit them. They know they are not going to lose Lewis, there are no credible or financially lucrative offers on the table in F1 for Lewis currently. If there was, then they would of had these talks months ago and Lewis would already of signed.

I'm just annoyed that this whole discussion of Lewis' contract is still being debated. It's dragged on for way too long, it's becoming boring. Everyone with half a brain who understands F1 understands Lewis will not be leaving McLaren and that McLaren as a brand will release the news during the five week break at a time which will benefit them most and propel them into the back pages at a time when there on-track performances are poor.

He can't join Lotus for 2013, is everybody clear????

John wrote:I'm not saying there's a problem with that, I'm saying that Mclaren as a brand will use every advantage they can to keep themselves in the limelight and at the forefront of F1 discussion by delaying these talks and then releasing the news (that everyone knows it coming) at a point in time that will most benefit them. They know they are not going to lose Lewis, there are no credible or financially lucrative offers on the table in F1 for Lewis currently. If there was, then they would of had these talks months ago and Lewis would already of signed.

I'm just annoyed that this whole discussion of Lewis' contract is still being debated. It's dragged on for way too long, it's becoming boring. Everyone with half a brain who understands F1 understands Lewis will not be leaving McLaren and that McLaren as a brand will release the news during the five week break at a time which will benefit them most and propel them into the back pages at a time when there on-track performances are poor.

He can't join Lotus for 2013, is everybody clear????

Try not to get too upset, its not really a big issue after all. Certainly not worth getting your knickers in a twist over

haha, don't worry I'm not because I know that Lewis will be staying, we just have to wait until mid August for it to be confirmed so McLaren can once again be at the forefront of f1 discussion during the summer. I just have to laugh when I hear people actually stating he's going to join Lotus when Kimi has a two year deal and Grosjean is managed by Boullier.

I want to know more about these promised updates ahead of Germany, not needlessly discussing this inevitable deal between Lewis and McLaren that is so obviously going to be agreed.

Hey John, chill out man. I put this topic up as id read it from the source and thought people would want to discuss it. I didnt say he WOULD go to Lotus.

To be fair noboddy on here has stated that they believe he would go to Lotus (EDIT: posted just before I read yours Critcal). It was just an extract from the Daily Mail which we all know is just wishful thinking from a lazy journalist. The annoying thing is it's one of those stories which you wish was true. Hamilton would be sensational behind the wheel of a Lotus or a Red Bull and the biggest slap in the face is that it aint gonna happen any time soon.

Whilst arguably the biggest talent in F1 is being wasted all we can do is hope and pray Mclaren get their act together.

SteveG wrote:To be fair noboddy on here has stated that they believe he would go to Lotus. It was just an extract from the Daily Mail which we all know is just wishful thinking from a lazy journalist. The annoying thing is it's one of those stories which you wish was true. Hamilton would be sensational behind the wheel of a Lotus or a Red Bull and the biggest slap in the face is that it aint gonna happen any time soon.

Whilst arguably the biggest talent in F1 is being wasted all we can do is hope and pray Mclaren get their act together.

Couldnt agree more.

SteveG wrote:all we can do is hope and pray Mclaren get their act together.

I still think announcing they had a huge upgrade for germany was a big mistake, talk about setting yourselves up for a big fall.

I'm sure Lewis would consider any competitive team, if he felt McLaren's rate of development and their ability to give him a competitive car, were not matching his expectations.

In the last statement I read from him, he said that while he felt he owed some loyalty to the team, he was now at the stage of his career where he needed to be in a position to be competing for wins regularly - a thinly veiled message to McLaren that they need to up their game or else he might start reviewing his position.

The simple fact is, most of the other teams he could realistically join in the near future, already have their drivers signed up for at least the next couple of years.

Ferrari may be getting shot of Massa soon, but would Hamilton want to be team mates with Alonso again (and vice versa)? It might just cause their renewed friendship to break down again.

Red Bull have only given Webber a 1 year deal and its known Hamilton has been in talks with them. The potential fly in the ointment is that the team has clearly been built around Vettel.

Mercedes are another option but have similar problems to McLaren...quick in quali but lack race pace. They're unlikely to drop Rosberg and Schumacher has inconveniently showed an upturn in form recently.

Lotus are showing potential, but are inconsistent and seem to have the worst tyre wear issues of any of the top teams. Besides that both Kimi and Roman have put in decent performances this season.