When Lewis Hamilton chose to leave McLaren for Mercedes in 2013, it shocked a lot of people. McLaren was a frontrunner in the grid at that time, whilst Mercedes was just a midfield team.
However, after rounds of talks with Niki Lauda and others, the Briton was convinced to move to Brackley. The move delighted some of his critics and rivals who claimed Hamilton would later regret this decision.
Fast forward to 2023, Hamilton has won 6 Championships, 82 race wins, 143 podiums, and 77 pole positions with the Silver Arrows- creating an unmatched legacy with the team. The controversial move allowed him to cement his name as the greatest of all time.
Although the story of Lauda convincing the 7x champion in his kitchen is widely known, the Briton claims he made this decision under no one’s influence. He confessed to disobeying his dad, Anthony Hamilton, with the move.
Lewis Hamilton claims he joined Mercedes at his own will
Mercedes offered Lewis Hamilton a seat to replace the retiring Michael Schumacher for the 2013 season. Many pundits considered the move to be a gamble against his promising F1 career. However, the decision to change teams was his call, the Briton shared.
“I remember the decision I took to join this team,” Hamilton recalled. He added, “I didn’t let anyone influence the decision that I took. I wanted to make it wholly my own judgement.”
The Mercedes driver continued, “There were people that told me I should have stayed at McLaren.” One of whom was his own father and manager, Anthony Hamilton, who asked his son to stay with his boyhood team.
McLaren had sponsored Hamilton’s junior racing career. The team had a good relationship with the Briton and gave him his F1 debut in 2007. It was with McLaren that Hamilton won his first championship in 2008.
Towards the end of 2012, he was becoming frustrated with McLaren’s inability to compete with Red Bull and their reliability issues. Nevertheless, the racer stuck with his gut feeling and chose to make the move. He said, “Something inside of me told me this was what’s right for me.” The rest is history!
Hamilton recalls his first meeting with Bono and first race win for Mercedes
After signing for Mercedes Lewis Hamilton spent his first year getting to know the folks at Brackley. The racer was keen on knowing everyone in the team and especially his race engineer Peter “Bono” Bonnington.
Hamilton recalled, “I got to the team and had my first seat fir with Bono. People usually underestimate the amount of time it takes to build a relationship and get to know how each other works.”
Bono has been an integral part of Hamilton’s success. He has been the 7x Champions race engineer since 2013 and the two have achieved loads of success.
Hamilton even revealed that he struggled in his first year with Mercedes. The 7x champion was introduced to a new type of suspension that he had never raced with and had to take some time to become familiar with his new ride.
The driver only managed a single win at the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Briton reminisced his sole win, “Budapest has always been a hunting ground for me. It’s a track I’ve really enjoyed.”
He continued, “If there were any doubts regarding the decision, this was a confirmation that I was on the right step. It was great to get back on the podium and solidify the decision that the team took to choose me.”
Fast forward to 2023, the Briton has spent 11 seasons with Mercedes. While the decision to join the Silver Arrows might have raised a few eyebrows at the time, in hindsight it was the greatest driver-team pairing in the history of the sport.
