Lewis Hamilton WILL be Fernando's partner next year!?

Question

It's official! See http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17800.html

What do you think? Could be an interesting combination. I think it could be that most of the pressure will be on Fernando and how he will fit in with the new team. Therefore, perhaps not as much pressure on Lewis?

Answer 1

It was inevitable that Lewis Hamilton would get the second seat at McLaren. Who are any of us to second guess Ron Dennis?
Actually Ron made the decision when he summoned his protégé to his house for a meeting on September 23, but decided to save the announcement until now, the eve of the first post-season test. By the way, Jenson Button will miss that test session because of rib injuries suffered in a karting accident.
Hamilton has been under Ron's wing for several years and to make a comparison with Michael Andretti and his short-lived Formula One career is just plain silly and without merit, and Andretti isn't the last rookie to race for McLaren; Jan Magnussen started eight and finished 10th at the October 22, Pacific Grand Prix, at Aida, Japan., in his F1 debut.
Had Lewis Hamilton been available to just about any other F1 team, he would have been signed long ago.
Well done Ron; a good move on your part and there is absolutely no chance that Hamilton will be relegated to test driver status during the season; you can bet the farm on that one.
For `tony h', Indycar (CART at the time) wasn't all ovals in 1993, when Michael Andretti attempted his F1 career; 10 of the 16 races were on road or street courses, including Mid Ohio, Cleveland, Portland, Detroit, Elkhart Lake, Long Beach, Toronto, Vancouver ...

Answer 2

it puts great financial pressure on a team to run two drivers from same coumtry, most teams only do it if they are nearing financial difficulty or about to go bankrupt

(ligier ran martin brundle and mark blundell prior to going bust, forti ran two drivers from italy, midland had two far european before selling out and sauber ran hienz harald frentzen and nick heoidfeld prior to selling out to bmw)

lewis hamilton was possibly the only other choice with experience in the car and this year is likely to be a 'building year by looks of it (like michaels first year at ferrari), so if ll well fernando is likely to get all the credit and none of the blame if it goes badly

comparing lewis hamilton to michael andretti is not the same because michael had very little testing (due to very late decision and not moving from america) and came from indycar which was all ovals back then so wouldnt have been fit or prepared, he wouldnt have been happy

lewis hamilton may not have much f1 experience but he knows the circuits from the other series, will get a fair few miles under his belt before season starts and although gp2 cars are not the same as f1 cars - Indycars are heavier and handle completely differently

you might see mika hakkinen deputising in some races though, swpecially if teh car is good and lewis is not straight up to speed

Answer 3

i do in comparison to countless of them, i think of they're the two great heads packed with themselves. a minimum of Alonso has a reason to be so conceited, using fact he's particularly gained 2 worldwide championships. on the different hand, he's often been like that, not superb in any respect. Hamilton is likewise v. conceited, yet is wise sufficient to not coach it as of course as Alonso. besides the undeniable fact that, i'm extraordinarily specific Hamilton will finally end up being extra useful than Alonso, using fact he's in basic terms a rookie and he's super (as a driving force). Alonso could desire to have commonly used extra useful and wager that it wasn't an extremely bright concept going to an English group, with an English boss, English crue and English driving force, who via the way were in McLaren like perpetually and grew to become into like a son to the boss. So confident, McLaren probably hasn't taken care of Alonso using fact the worldwide Champion he's, yet he could desire to had commonly used extra useful. besides, they're the two behaving like spoiled brats.

Answer 4

Having the talents of Fernando in the McLaren camp will help Hamilton realise his potential at such a young age...just like Alonso.

Answer 5

I'm half surprised, but it was half expected as well. I guess Ronster has gone for the long term option, and felt that making Lewis wait another year to mature was not necessary.
I don't think Alonso will have any trouble showing who's boss though...he's not going to get beaten by a rookie, no matter how good he is...I mean, we're talking about a back to back world champ who beat Schumi. I'm not a fan of Alonso, I don't like him, but I respect him enough to say that he's a damn good driver.

Answer 6

I'm not sure. Ron Dennis should have gone for the choice with the bigger amount of experience, which was de la Rosa. The last time McLaren hired a rookie was in 1993, Michael Andretti, and he was a disaster. He was replaced by Mika Hakkinen.
So maybe Lewis won't confirm and he will be relegated to testing duties.

P.S. Both Andretti and Hamilton started their career in F1 with team-mates of the highest profile (Senna was at McLaren in 1993).

Answer 7

Black & white combination.

I think the pressure is evn on both the drivers. Becoz both the drivers are new to the team they will try hard to make an impression.

Answer 8

O la, la...and it is true. That's what I heard on TV, I could had sworn that McLaren would kept Pedro de la Rosa. I believe it would have been a better choice, it is not a funny and an interesting combination...but is realy true...!!!

Answer 9

Yes, an exciting choice, everyone is happy to see a new face. I just hope he can live up to expectations. They are already comparing him to Tiger Woods, thats a lot of weight to carry around!

Answer 10

Bring it on! Brilliant - another UK driver. Hope he does really well. I cannot wait until the new season starts - cannot believe it's still about five months away. Will be very interesting...