“It Was the Inevitable Direction”: Lewis Hamilton on How He Risked Everything to Join Mercedes From McLaren

When Lewis Hamilton decided to leave McLaren to join Mercedes in 2013, most of the F1 community thought he was making a big mistake. McLaren was a much stronger team at that point and had already helped Hamilton win one world championship in 2008.

Mercedes on the other hand just came back to F1 and even though their project, led by Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda, was ambitious, their car wasn’t strong enough to fight for the world title. Wolff, who joined the outfit in 2013, was tasked with the operation of signing Hamilton. It wasn’t an easy job to convince a world champion to join an ‘inferior team’ on paper, but after Lauda’s intervention, Hamilton folded.

Hamilton went on to create history with Mercedes, winning six world championships. He also helped the Brackley-based team win eight constructors’ championship titles and was part of an era of dominance where very few came to being of any threat to them. Looking back on his Mercedes years, however, Hamilton admits that he would not have tasted this much success, had he not risked it all.

Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes to find something new

After Hamilton’s Title win in 2008, the tides began to turn in favor of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel. Between 2010 and 2013, they dominated the sport winning all world championships, so one could understand if a driver as talented as Hamilton was looking for a change.

Joining Mercedes was a decision Hamilton considered a gamble, but he decided to go with his gut, and trust a team which had an ambitious project mapped out on paper. He went on to speak about how he likes facing challenges and taking risks regularly, because otherwise, he ‘wouldn’t be living life’.

“I wanted something new,” he said as quoted by the Express. I was excited to work with new people and enter a team that had struggled. Taking everything that I had learned and seeing if I could apply it somewhere else. I went with what I felt in my gut and in my heart. It led me to this amazing team and this incredible journey we are on.”

Will Hamilton continue his stay at Mercedes?

Hamilton’s last title win with Mercedes came in 2020 after which he suffered a heartbreaking title loss on the final lap in 2021. Unfortunately, since the regulation changes of 2022 had an effect on Mercedes’ performance, the 38-year-old has been unable to win a race in F1.

After a dismal 2022 campaign where he finished P6 in the standings, Hamilton was hoping to bounce back this year with a much stronger car. However, things point toward the same direction after the opening two races.

Consequently, Hamilton could be considering a move away from Mercedes in the final years of his illustrious career so that he drives for a team that can help him win his eighth world championship.