Martin Whitmarsh surprised with Hamilton exit

McLaren’s team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, has explained how he was surprised when Lewis Hamilton confirmed his departure from the Woking-based outfit for Mercedes, a decision which the 2008 World Champion revealed to Whitmarsh after the Singapore Grand Prix. McLaren have since signed Sauber’s Sergio Perez as Hamilton’s successor.

After being associated with McLaren since an incredibly young age, Lewis Hamilton has finally decided to “flee the nest” and move on to another Formula 1 outfit. This has seen the Briton sign for German marque Mercedes for the 2013 season, as a replacement for Michael Schumacher. This move confirmed months of speculation within the paddock, and has remained a mighty topic since.

As the Formula 1 fraternity prepares to venture into the great unknown with the United States Grand Prix around the brand-new state-of-the-art Circuit of the Americas in Texas, Martin Whitmarsh has explained how he was surprised with Lewis Hamilton’s decision. Hamilton first informed his team-principal after the Singapore Grand Prix, a race which ended in misery for the Briton after he retired whilst leading the race.

“I was surprised, but I was not shocked.” Explained Martin Whitmarsh, “He told me right after Singapore and I am pretty sure he hadn’t made up his mind until after Singapore - the Monday or Tuesday after Singapore. I think it is always bad to make a decision in the aftermath of a bad race. He was pretty sure that he was going to win that race and it was a disappointment and as I just said it is never good to make a decision in such a situation. I respect his decision, but I believe that he would be better off with us - we are the stronger team - and we intend to beat him next year!”

McLaren tried desperately hard to retain Lewis Hamilton for 2013, with his contract at McLaren drawing to a conclusion after this season. The Woking-based outfit offered the Briton much more money to remain a McLaren driver, but still Mercedes were able to snatch him away. Martin Whitmarsh has admitted he is disappointed in a way, as Mercedes most likely offered Hamilton a much more lucrative contract, however he also believes Hamilton has already regretted his decision.

“I think he has [regretted his decision] on occasions, yes.” Continued Martin Whitmarsh, “Probably, when you make a decision you have to tell yourself that the decision is made so you have to look forward. We made Lewis an offer - an offer, which I believe is more money than any other driver at the moment is being paid. That leads us to suspect that our competitor and our partner Mercedes-Benz offered a bit more money. I don’t know that, but I think for Lewis made his decision. I am disappointed in one sense, but you have to focus on going forward.”

As Lewis Hamilton prepares for his final two races as a McLaren driver, Sergio Perez is also preparing for his final two races with Sauber. Once Lewis Hamilton was announced as a Mercedes driver for 2013, McLaren immediately confirmed Sergio Perez as the Briton’s replacement. Despite a very competitive 2012 season for the Mexican, which has seen him finish on the podium on numerous occasions, Martin Whitmarsh has recently voiced doubts about appointing Perez as Hamilton’s replacement.

Apart from the doubts regarding signing Sergio Perez, Martin Whitmarsh has also firmly denied accusations the Mexican driver was signed due to his wealthy Mexican sponsors. During his time at Sauber, Perez and the team have been sponsored by Telmex, a Mexican telecommunications company. Although the company will remain Sauber sponsor next season (most likely due to the imminent signing of Esteban Gutierrez), other wealthy sponsors could find their way to McLaren.

“I can absolutely say that he [Perez] is in our seat because of his raw talent potential.” Confirmed Martin Whitmarsh, “Up until today we have not had one Mexican sponsor, not one Peso from Mexico up to now. Will we get some? Possibly, but that wasn’t the motivation. If you look around, who were the options? The options were Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg. We opted for Sergio Perez. We are a bit too British, so a bit of Latin blood will be quite interesting.”

With McLaren targeting success in the final two races at the United States and Brazil, thoughts on the season at hand are still of the utmost priority within the team. However, it’s unquestionable that the 2013 season will be a leap into the great unknown not just for Lewis Hamilton, but for McLaren as well as they strive to tame the rising star that is Sergio Perez.

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