‘I look forward to you guys failing’ ‘Not the driver you need’ ‘Big mistake’: Reviewing the reactions to Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes move 10 years after the announcement
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Lewis Hamilton winning his First title with Mercedes in 2014.
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are the names known by everyone since 2014. Hamilton has won six titles with Mercedes and seven titles in total, with Mercedes winning eight constructor titles since 2014. They were the team to beat for the whole of the previous era of the regulations. But this wasn’t nearly the case 10 years back, in 2012.
Mercedes came back to the sport in 2010, but they weren’t really as competitive as people now know. The Silver Arrows were around the midfield fighting for the podium. With Nico Rosberg as a new team player beside the seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher. People didn’t really have high hopes from the silver team but they were prepared for the miracle Schumacher would bring up with the car.
3 seasons passed, and Schumacher didn’t win a single race with Mercedes, though he did help the team with his useful insights on the car, Mercedes were still nowhere near the pace of Red Bull, Ferrari or McLaren. On 28 September 2012, Mercedes announced Lewis Hamilton to partner Nico Rosberg for the 2013 season and beyond.
Fan Reactions to Mercedes announcing Lewis Hamilton
A lot of fumed over the decision with all their critics regarding the decision to replace who was then considered the greatest driver of all time (and still is quite a bit), Michael Schumacher. Though the fans came out as the right ones in 2013 with Sebastian Vettel winning 13 out of the 17 races with Red Bull, things changed completely in 2014.
2014 started a new era of engines, introducing the Hybrid V6 engines at the back of the car. This change in era brought a real change in Mercedes. Now the scenes were pretty clear with Lewis Hamilton leading the championship and the start of the Silver War between Lewis and Nico Rosberg for the title. Mercedes started their domination era, winning tons of races and titles till the end of 2021.
In 2022, it is safe to say, Lewis proved the doubters wrong after his move from McLaren to Mercedes or else better said – ‘Manchester United to West Ham’. Some of the fan reactions from 2012 to the change in the Mercedes lineup include:
Hamilton pulled off an amazing career with Mercedes, proving all of the critics wrong by winning 82 races, with 133 podium finishes and 77 pole positions. The car was always there, but it’s never easy to win so many championships even if it is the case. You need both the driver and the car. Hamilton proved his mettle, and he and Mercedes together started an era of domination which we may not ever see again.
Read More: “Any conversations around buying McLaren is a non-starter” : Zak Brown
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