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Formula 1
SPEED Voice Bob Varsha Talks About Lewis Hamilton’s Move To Mercedes
Bob Varsha, the Voice of Formula One on SPEED, talked about the moves in Formula One...
SPEED's Bob Varsha. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
SPEED Voice BOB VARSHA TALKS ABOUT LEWIS HAMILTON’S MOVE to MERCEDES; SCHUMACHER’S FUTURE
Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 champion, recently announced he’s moving from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 season. It’s a move that also ousts seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher from a ride he signed on for in 2010, returning after a brief retirement.
Bob Varsha, the Voice of Formula One on SPEED, talked about the move…
SPEED: What are your initial reactions to the move?
Bob Varsha: Let me put my hand in the air and say that I was one of the guys that thought he would not go, and stick with McLaren. To be honest, I’m scratching my head about this. Lewis says what he wants to do is win races, and yet he’s leaving the team that’s won half the races held since Mercedes entered the sport as a factory team again in 2010. Mercedes has won one race, taken one pole, and that is looking more and more like a fluke in Singapore this year for Nico Rosberg. I have a little trouble understanding, when Lewis says he’s going to win races, and how he somehow couldn’t win a McLaren.
McLaren, according to some reports, offered him the same money as Mercedes, but the difference being that Mercedes was going to offer him more personal freedom to make money on the outside, through personal sponsors, and perhaps allow him more free time to not have as many sponsor commitments. That signals to me, at least, that his new management, the XIX (The 19), are advising him that Mercedes is a good deal, and I’m just not sure that’s the case. I’m puzzled frankly, as to why Lewis would jump from a proven commodity at McLaren, to a very much unproven situation at Mercedes. Maybe he knows something about the 2013 Mercedes cars that the rest of us don’t. Presumably, that’s why Michael Schumacher was waiting until October to give Mercedes his decision. Maybe Michael was just stringing us all along, to give Mercedes time to negotiate with Lewis. I just don’t know, and I am puzzled by it.
SPEED: What does this say about Hamilton’s career trajectory?
Varsha: A professional driver’s first responsibility is to put themselves in the best car on the grid that they can get into. For me, and for Lewis, that car has to be the McLaren, presuming that he couldn’t get into a Red Bull or perhaps, a Ferrari. Now, those would be very difficult situations for him because at Red Bull, he would have to deal with Sebastian Vettel; and at Ferrari he would have had to partner with Fernando Alonso. Both of those guys, in addition to being multiple World Champions, are the centerpieces of their team. I just don’t see Lewis fitting in there.
At Mercedes, he will be teammates with his old buddy Nico Rosberg, and presumably, Lewis feels he can handle Rosberg, that he can build the team around himself in a way that Michael Schumacher built the team around himself, as he did at Ferrari previously, when he had his success with Ross Brawn. Personally, what I feel is that Lewis has taken some bad advice. Maybe time will prove me wrong, and I certainly hope he has a splendid career with Mercedes, but that’s a team that’s been on the brink. Not only have they been mediocre, for a team with their resources, but there’s also constant turbulence in their support base. There are members of the Board of Directors at Mercedes who come from the Union ranks, to whom, don’t even want the team to be in Formula One. It seems to be an almost annual event that the Mercedes Board is pondering whether to stay in Formula One. Is the expense worth Formula One? How this qualifies as a stable platform for Lewis to build his career is something I just don’t see.
SPEED: Where does this leave Michael Schumacher? Is he done?
Varsha: That’s a curious situation. It seems to me that this is the second time now; once at Ferrari and now with Mercedes, that Michael has had the rug pulled out from under him. I think it’s widely known that he was not prepared to leave Ferrari, when Ferrari basically passed out press releases at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, saying that Michael was finished, before Michael even announced to the press that he was finished. We all witnessed the wrestling match between Michael and (Ferrari President) Luca di Montezemolo in the pit lane after the race. This is the second time this has happened to Michael; waiting too long to make a decision. Certainly, an operator like Michael would know that the team, in order to cover itself and have somebody out there in the event Michael decided not to continue, couldn’t wait with basically the last championship-caliber driver standing, potentially available, when the music stopped. By October, Hamilton might have done a deal to go back to McLaren. Where would have they of gone then? Would they have taken a Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg or Paul di Resta?
Back when I started in the late 1980s, I wandered by the Lotus pit in Austria. It had been announced that Nelson Piquet was coming over to Lotus from Williams. I asked Peter Warr, team manager, how the decision was made? He put his hands on his hips, looked me in the eye and said, ‘Do you think I’m going to wait around until everybody else makes their decision?’ That’s how it is in Formula One. We can’t imagine Aaron Rodgers announcing during the middle of an NFL season that he’s going to be playing for the Miami Dolphins starting a year from now. That doesn’t happen in American pro sports, but it does happen in Formula One. People will not wait around. Rumors are still out there that Sebastian Vettel has done a pre-contract agreement with Ferrari for a year and a half down the road. Look what Juan Pablo Montoya did, going to McLaren from Williams back in the day – 18 months out, he announced that he was going to be a Williams driver when he still had a full season ahead of him with another team. It’s crazy.
SPEED: There’s no guarantee of the technology either?
Varsha: Exactly, which brings is back to Lewis, who, is just making a huge gamble here that the brain trust that they’ve assembled at Mercedes is going to be able to give him a winning car, whether its next year or in 2014, when new engine rules come online and Mercedes will be a true factory team as builder of their engines, as well as their chassis. Lewis is gambling that Ross Brawn can capture lightening in a bottle again, producing a championship-winning car.
Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 champion, recently announced he’s moving from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 season. It’s a move that also ousts seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher from a ride he signed on for in 2010, returning after a brief retirement.
Bob Varsha, the Voice of Formula One on SPEED, talked about the move…
SPEED: What are your initial reactions to the move?
Bob Varsha: Let me put my hand in the air and say that I was one of the guys that thought he would not go, and stick with McLaren. To be honest, I’m scratching my head about this. Lewis says what he wants to do is win races, and yet he’s leaving the team that’s won half the races held since Mercedes entered the sport as a factory team again in 2010. Mercedes has won one race, taken one pole, and that is looking more and more like a fluke in Singapore this year for Nico Rosberg. I have a little trouble understanding, when Lewis says he’s going to win races, and how he somehow couldn’t win a McLaren.
McLaren, according to some reports, offered him the same money as Mercedes, but the difference being that Mercedes was going to offer him more personal freedom to make money on the outside, through personal sponsors, and perhaps allow him more free time to not have as many sponsor commitments. That signals to me, at least, that his new management, the XIX (The 19), are advising him that Mercedes is a good deal, and I’m just not sure that’s the case. I’m puzzled frankly, as to why Lewis would jump from a proven commodity at McLaren, to a very much unproven situation at Mercedes. Maybe he knows something about the 2013 Mercedes cars that the rest of us don’t. Presumably, that’s why Michael Schumacher was waiting until October to give Mercedes his decision. Maybe Michael was just stringing us all along, to give Mercedes time to negotiate with Lewis. I just don’t know, and I am puzzled by it.
SPEED: What does this say about Hamilton’s career trajectory?
Varsha: A professional driver’s first responsibility is to put themselves in the best car on the grid that they can get into. For me, and for Lewis, that car has to be the McLaren, presuming that he couldn’t get into a Red Bull or perhaps, a Ferrari. Now, those would be very difficult situations for him because at Red Bull, he would have to deal with Sebastian Vettel; and at Ferrari he would have had to partner with Fernando Alonso. Both of those guys, in addition to being multiple World Champions, are the centerpieces of their team. I just don’t see Lewis fitting in there.
At Mercedes, he will be teammates with his old buddy Nico Rosberg, and presumably, Lewis feels he can handle Rosberg, that he can build the team around himself in a way that Michael Schumacher built the team around himself, as he did at Ferrari previously, when he had his success with Ross Brawn. Personally, what I feel is that Lewis has taken some bad advice. Maybe time will prove me wrong, and I certainly hope he has a splendid career with Mercedes, but that’s a team that’s been on the brink. Not only have they been mediocre, for a team with their resources, but there’s also constant turbulence in their support base. There are members of the Board of Directors at Mercedes who come from the Union ranks, to whom, don’t even want the team to be in Formula One. It seems to be an almost annual event that the Mercedes Board is pondering whether to stay in Formula One. Is the expense worth Formula One? How this qualifies as a stable platform for Lewis to build his career is something I just don’t see.
SPEED: Where does this leave Michael Schumacher? Is he done?
Varsha: That’s a curious situation. It seems to me that this is the second time now; once at Ferrari and now with Mercedes, that Michael has had the rug pulled out from under him. I think it’s widely known that he was not prepared to leave Ferrari, when Ferrari basically passed out press releases at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, saying that Michael was finished, before Michael even announced to the press that he was finished. We all witnessed the wrestling match between Michael and (Ferrari President) Luca di Montezemolo in the pit lane after the race. This is the second time this has happened to Michael; waiting too long to make a decision. Certainly, an operator like Michael would know that the team, in order to cover itself and have somebody out there in the event Michael decided not to continue, couldn’t wait with basically the last championship-caliber driver standing, potentially available, when the music stopped. By October, Hamilton might have done a deal to go back to McLaren. Where would have they of gone then? Would they have taken a Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg or Paul di Resta?
Back when I started in the late 1980s, I wandered by the Lotus pit in Austria. It had been announced that Nelson Piquet was coming over to Lotus from Williams. I asked Peter Warr, team manager, how the decision was made? He put his hands on his hips, looked me in the eye and said, ‘Do you think I’m going to wait around until everybody else makes their decision?’ That’s how it is in Formula One. We can’t imagine Aaron Rodgers announcing during the middle of an NFL season that he’s going to be playing for the Miami Dolphins starting a year from now. That doesn’t happen in American pro sports, but it does happen in Formula One. People will not wait around. Rumors are still out there that Sebastian Vettel has done a pre-contract agreement with Ferrari for a year and a half down the road. Look what Juan Pablo Montoya did, going to McLaren from Williams back in the day – 18 months out, he announced that he was going to be a Williams driver when he still had a full season ahead of him with another team. It’s crazy.
SPEED: There’s no guarantee of the technology either?
Varsha: Exactly, which brings is back to Lewis, who, is just making a huge gamble here that the brain trust that they’ve assembled at Mercedes is going to be able to give him a winning car, whether its next year or in 2014, when new engine rules come online and Mercedes will be a true factory team as builder of their engines, as well as their chassis. Lewis is gambling that Ross Brawn can capture lightening in a bottle again, producing a championship-winning car.
Spanish Grand Prix
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