Lewis Hamilton

[ronnie21]

Took the money and ran. Signed for Mercedes, Sergo Perez signs for McClaren from Sauber.  Cannot see the german outfit being as competetive as McClaren, will he ever be a world champion again?  

[@MacPhlea]

He's following the engine - McLaren won't be using Mercedes after next season...

[DMR]

will he ever be a world champion again?   

Yes

[luckyluke699]

He's following the engine - McLaren won't be using Mercedes after next season...

Supposedly it's 2 fold:
1) Mercedes have promised him major car redevelopment in 2014, after which time they hope to be a major player in F1 again
2) Number 1 driver (no rivalry/arguments with button within the team)

The fact that he got a nice fat pay rise won't cause any harm either... ;-)

[Benzel]

If anything he's improving his chances.

[SuggWillSugg MBE]

At first I thought he'd made a massive error, but the huge engine regulation changes coming soon (Next year?) will really suit Merc as they tend to have the best engine of the lot and will have a jump on the teams that buy from them.

[Batch]

Have McLaren even confirmed who their engine supplier will be for 2014 yet?  Saw the Honda rumours, but they were pooh pooh'd

Its  a bit of a gamble for Hamilton IMHO. Yes you'd expect Mercedes works to outperform a customer team, but that hasn't happened the last couple of years. Whereas McLaren have serial success over decades.

Time will tell I suppose. I do think though that (as said above) Mercedes can build a team around him just like Ferrari do with Alonso. So IF Mercedes get it right then he's going to benefit from that.

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

Interesting decision. I guess you have to remember that aside from the engine in 2014 Mercedes do have another weapon in their armory and that's Brawn. His tactical nouse could have been a key factor in this move. Let's be honest McClaren have a good set up but Whitmarsh and the team sometimes don't do it justice. I think frustration of a few years where the car hasn't been the best have finally got to Hamilton here. This season the car has been decent but the strategies and sometimes the luck haven't gone well for him. The Mercedes' haven't actually been too bad this season but they need a class driver to back the car up. Shumi is past it now and has never been anywhere near his best since returning. Maybe Hamilton sees himself as the man to help them push on.

[Bogus Dave]

What are these seismic rule changes in 2014, and why is it assumed mercedes are going to do so well out of it.

Don't get the hype about Mercede's. Their stint in F1 is going pretty much exactly the same as Toyota's did, and I can see it ending the same way

[Batch]

What are these seismic rule changes in 2014,

1.6l v6 turbo engine limited to 15K revs + kers and ters (thermal energy recovery, no idea what it is),  replaces 2.4 V8

and why is it assumed mercedes are going to do so well out of it.

They have a good rep with engines, but such a big change makes it hard to predict who will get it right. Plus I'd back McLaren to produce a better chassis than Merc!

Don't get the hype about Mercede's. Their stint in F1 is going pretty much exactly the same as Toyota's did, and I can see it ending the same way

Could well be right. They have a good man in Brawn, but it depends how easily Merc can fund the rest of the team in these dark times.

[ghanimah]

1.6l v6 turbo engine limited to 15K revs + kers and ters (thermal energy recovery), no idea what it is,  replaces 2.4 V8

Cheers for that summary Batch, TER sounds like a version of KERs. I still remain slightly unconvinced McLaren are in good hands with Witmarsh though.

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

To be fair it took Red Bull a fair fee years to establish themselves in F1. Mercedes havent been around for too long.

[Benzel]

Mercedes are in better hands than friggin Toyota. Sheesh.

[Batch]

Cheers for that summary Batch, TER sounds like a version of KERs.

 I can understand KERS on a superficial level - turny thing charges battery under breaking

Best simple description I can find on TERS is "With the TERS system its possible energy harvested from the turbocharger could be reused to keep the turbo spinning...Its will generate power from the spinning turbo and will be able to store and discharge that energy. In some cases the team will reuse the TERS energy into the main KERS boost (directly or via a battery) or reuse the TERS energy back into the turbo."