When Eddie Jordan first disclosed that Lewis was transferring to Mercedes, I tweeted that it was a mistake.
I still think that it is.
Schumacher might have been once great, but Mercedes haven’t supplied him with a fast, reliable car, or a reliably fast car (both!!)
I don’t think that will change with Lewis in that hot, recently vacated, seat.
What I don’t like also, is the manner in which this has been done.
Poor Schumacher, whilst I couldn’t stand him in his first incarnation as an F1 driver, I actually like the guy now, but he should have been left to properly announce his future *first*.
It would have been the proper thing to do in my opinion.
Then, and only then, should Lewis been offered the drive, at least publicly.
As to the mistake – the glory is in winning the championship – not the money.
Money may be nice at the end of the day, but, unless Lewis is really stupid, he could retire today and live a very comfortable life for the rest of his long years.
Thing is, like all great racing drivers, Lewis is a proper racer – the championship is the *only* thing that should matter, that is what makes you into a lasting “name”.
Lets look at it this way.
I would name, Fangio, Stewart, Lauda, Piquet, Prost, Senna and Schumacher as names of F1 drivers that have a *massive* legacy – why ?
Ask yourself – how many times they won the championship…
All of them, 3 or more times.
Clark, he won it twice, and he’s British, so he normally gets recognition, fine.
I’d list Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell, but they only won it once each, and Mansell went on to win the Indy CART championship the following year, and again, they are British, so get a little bit of a nod.
But – in comparison to the others that have won 3 or more… no, sorry, great as they are, they are not quite in the same league.
I mean, I forget Villeneuve (both of them), Rosberg (Keke), Rindt and a few others that only one it the once (Hulme ????)
That championship winning is what gives you a legacy, Vettel and unfortunately Alonso are only one more championship win away from making that grade, Lewis could be, but only with McLaren IMHO.
Mercedes, and the Brawn team before them, I think got very lucky with the year that Jenson won the championship, and no, I won’t take away the fact that Jenson is a good driver, he is just a Prost – a little too clinical, “Professor-like”, in the same manner as Prost, but, Lewis, the guts to put the car where it needs to go, that, I personally like.
After Jenson’s run of wins the year he won the championship, he didn’t do that great, the other teams had caught up on the technological advantage that Brawn had at the beginning of that year.
Can Mercedes do that again ?
With Brawn at the helm, possibly in 2014, with the proposed new rule changes for engines, however – not next year IMHO, and that is another year I don’t see Lewis winning the championship now.
I hope I am wrong, but, I fear he has made a mistake.
