Lewis Hamilton revealed that leaving McLaren for Mercedes was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, but it bore sweet fruit in the end.
Many people felt like Hamilton’s move to Mercedes in 2013 was ill-timed. McLaren were a race winning team and Mercedes were still finding their feet in F1. However, we all know how history unfolded, fast-forward to 2022.
Hamilton ended up winning six World Titles with Mercedes, and established his status as one of the, if not the greatest F1 driver of all time. Now 37-years old, the Brit is still going strong at the Silver Arrows.
In an interview with Graham Bensinger, the Mercedes star opened up about his departure from McLaren. He started by revealing the exact moment he made the call.
“I was in Thailand and I was sitting by the pool,” he said. “It was the heat of the moment and I had to make the decision. Time was against me and Mercedes was pushing for an answer.”
“For some reason, I came to a very peaceful moment. I was looking over the sea and the sun was setting. There were really beautiful islands in the distance and…it just came to me.”
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Letting his McLaren bosses know that he was joining Mercedes was very tough for Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton had made his F1 debut with McLaren in 2007. In his very first year with the Surrey based outfit, he took the sport by storm and narrowly missed out on the World Title. The following year, he did make history by winning it.
For a team that had nurtured him since he was a small child, it was extremely hard for Hamilton to leave them. He talks about the moment he had to let his team bosses know that he was joining Mercedes.
“Oh, it was horrible,” the seven-time Champion said. “I had known Martin (Whitmarsh) and Ron (Dennis) since I was 13. To have to call them and say, I’m leaving was difficult, especially when you could hear their voice.”
“Someone who has been with you for so long, has nurtured, helped me get into Formula 1, for sure they felt betrayed. But I think they understood what I needed to do for me, as a man. And they respected that.”
Hamilton made the move to Mercedes to sacrifice small term success in favor of long term stability. Now, he’s a part of a team, that has dominated F1 for the last eight years, so it’s safe to say that the decision he made was the right call for him.
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