2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[organic]

W15 must not be a good car to take this decision so early...

Beacon of hope in that regard is that Hamilton may have had to activate the get-out clause in his contract before the beginning of 2024. Usually exit clauses will have expiries that protect from the driver leaving at a moment when its hard to find a replacement.

I think the Ferrari deal has been in the works for a long time and not hugely related to performance of W15. We can probably infer from it that Merc aren't forecasting themselves to win a championship based on their off-season work

[214270]

W15 must not be a good car to take this decision so early...

That’s a reasonable conclusion to make given reports this entire saga is a little over 24hrs old!

[Spoutnik]

W15 must not be a good car to take this decision so early...

Beacon of hope in that regard is that Hamilton may have had to activate the get-out clause in his contract before the beginning of 2024. Usually exit clauses will have expiries that protect from the driver leaving at a moment when its hard to find a replacement. If I am a team I'm not wanting that exit clause to be available even within the season

You are right
But at the same time. We could talk about this at the end of 2023. So he might've waited to see how the W15 was. And we can make the hypothesis it was not particularly impressive
He wouldn't have taken this decision if the new competitor was the W11

[chrisc90]

I wonder what Lewis' release clause was in his contract he used.

It all doesnt add up at this moment, the season hasnt even started. Can it have been something about the cars performance? Given he has only had a couple days in the simulator?

I think something is developing deeper within the team tbh.

[mkay]

I wonder what Lewis' release clause was in his contract he used.

It all doesnt add up at this moment, the season hasnt even started. Can it have been something about the cars performance? Given he has only had a couple days in the simulator?

I think something is developing deeper within the team tbh.

It's probably not a "release" clause, but rather a 1-year extension at the driver's option. Hamilton basically declined to pick up the option thereby allowing himself to sign with Ferrari.

[214270]

I wonder what Lewis' release clause was in his contract he used.

It all doesnt add up at this moment, the season hasnt even started. Can it have been something about the cars performance? Given he has only had a couple days in the simulator?

I think something is developing deeper within the team tbh.

It's probably not a "release" clause, but rather a 1-year extension at the driver's option. Hamilton basically declined to pick up the option thereby allowing himself to sign with Ferrari.

The press release specifically mentions release option.

[organic]

Release option, optional extension, get-out clause ultimately they all relate to one thing: the contract does not run to the full length by way of certain conditions. A "release option"'s trigger could simply be Lewis wanting to leave. Other way I could see the "release option" realistically working is via a performance clause eg number of podiums achieved by Lewis in 2023 allowing the contract to be exited early should he wish to.

However Formu1a Uno who broke the news of Lewis-> Ferrari last night well before anyone else reported Lewis was on a 1+1 deal with the 2nd year optional. so more likely the release option is just carefully worded to make Merc look better (Imo)

[Spoutnik]

W15 must not be a good car to take this decision so early...

That’s a reasonable conclusion to make given reports this entire saga is a little over 24hrs old!

Clearly. I think this is it
He already said the W13 and W14 were not feeling good in the sim/first run on track. So he probably trust the team to make big jump this winter. But it wasnt the case

[billamend]

Mercedes, the car company, must _not_ be happy that one of its most important brand icons is leaving for another car brand.

The big question could be - with Lewis gone, what will Ratcliffe (Ineos) do with his 1/3rd share... If there's a buyer and he wants to exit, would Mercedes activate the tag-along shareholder clause?

I actually think the other way around: could Ineos buy the whole team, and Mercedes going back being just an engine supplier? There were rumours of that a couple of years ago.

And if it’s true what McLaren said, the relationship with McLaren is no longer of a normal engine supplier.

[Jambier]

So.
Alonso will replace Lewis?

[Bill_Kar]

So.
Alonso will replace Lewis?

At least I hope so. That would be the most "interesting" signing. But right now, I wouldn't bet my money on anyone.

[Bill_Kar]

Also, I was wondering what would be the most probable time of announcing the 2025 seat. I reckon somewhere around summer break, gives time to think and negotiate as they have a lot of options. I would not expect a decision early on.

[AMG.Tzan]

I too think that after being at the factory these last few days and working in the simulator he probably saw some things he didn’t like and the team hadn’t changed upon his request!

I find it pretty hard to explain any other reason to announce such a huge move so early in the year that will surely have an effect on the way the team and Lewis work and communicate together!

On the other hand for Mercedes it’s an opportunity to look at their future and secure their best possible option! For me if Kimi Antonelli does manage to have an exceptional F2 season I would instantly put him in the car for 2025…

There’s no reason to sign someone like Alonso (just like there was no reason for Ferrari to sign Hamilton right now but anyway) since there are young guns that can prove better in the long term! Norris would have been the best bet but I guess he’ll be at McLaren for a long time now…Albon and Sainz are probably the next best candidates…

[Cs98]

I find it pretty hard to explain any other reason to announce such a huge move so early in the year that will surely have an effect on the way the team and Lewis work and communicate together!

Because you are only looking at one side of the equation. This needed to be done because Carlos Sainz won't sit around without a deal until the middle of the season. They needed a guarantee from Hamilton so they don't end up in a situation where Sainz walks because they are courting Hamilton, potentially losing them both if Hamilton decides to stay. Lewis has committed to this because it was now or never, he's obviously willing to sacrifice 2024 (or his hopes are not that high to begin with for this year).

[UlleGulle]

Because you are only looking at one side of the equation. This needed to be done because Carlos Sainz won't sit around without a deal until the middle of the season. They needed a guarantee from Hamilton so they don't end up in a situation where Sainz walks because they are courting Hamilton, potentially losing them both if Hamilton decides to stay. Lewis has committed to this because it was now or never, he's obviously willing to sacrifice 2024 (or his hopes are not that high to begin with for this year).

I think Sainz would sit around actually. Because to play hardball, you need to have some good alternatives. And he simply doesn't. Red Bull is not on the table, Merc would prefer to keep both Hamilton and Russel, and McLaren has their drivers locked up in Multi-year deals. Aston Stroll will probably not sign two spanish drivers, that's bad for business. And I doubt Sainz would feel rushed to join Bottas at the back of the grid.

So Ferrari might have been rushed to sign in a now or never-deal with either Hamilton or another driver, but that other driver wasnt Sainz. More probably Alonso.

But the more boring and realistic alternative is that Hamiltons exit clause expired on the first of February. And he sent in the termination papers yesterday.