“You’re Not Winning Races!”: Lewis Hamilton Plays Out History-Making Debate Catalyzing Mercedes F1 Move

Lewis Hamilton is a long-time admirer of MotoGP. Not only a fan, but he is also friends with nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi. Recently, the two legends of motorsports got together and discussed their journeys so far. While in conversation, Lewis Hamilton divulged details about his switch from Mclaren to Mercedes.

Notably, he also discloses the entities that convinced him to move from Mclaren to a then-struggling Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton discusses details behind his move to Mercedes

Lewis got into some details regarding his move back in 2013. That’s when the world champion moved from a winning Mclaren team to a struggling Mercedes. Lewis was at the end of his contract and not sure of his future. Out of all the offers on the table, he chose a struggling Mercedes team. But it took some convincing! As Lewis reveals, it was then-team principal Ross Brawn and stake-holder Niki Lauda who were the catalysts behind the move.

AUSTIN, TX – Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Great Britain and Niki Lauda of Germany and Mercedes during the United States Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Peter J Fox/Getty Images)

Lewis mentions in the conversation, “Ross Brawn came to my mum’s house. In the kitchen we had tea and he’s telling me the different things they’re doing to progress as a team.” A surreal experience for Lewis as Brawn was the mastermind behind Michael Schumacher’s world titles. And now there he was, convincing the onetime world champion to join the team, which eventually got him to seven.

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He also mentions a call he received from Niki Lauda as well, “Hey you must come to the team!” But Lewis cut him and said, “But Niki, you’re not winning races. How’s that gonna happen?” To which Lauda said, “I’ll go and meet Ross and he will tell you.” 

Nothing wrong with being a little careful with your future. But it was a joint operation by Ross Brawn and Niki Lauda to convince Lewis to join Mercedes from Mclaren.

Growing together as a team

Lewis later mentions how Rossi and Michael joined teams that were not winning. He said, “I’d seen people like yourself and Michael moving to a team which was not currently winning but the idea of the journey to success with that team, you build something special.” 

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Lewis, even without a complete conviction, moved to Mercedes because of Niki and Ross. Struggling back then, but before stepping into a new era, Mercedes got Lewis Hamilton on the team. And the rest, as they say, is history!

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