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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes Lewis Hamilton already has some regrets over his move to Mercedes.
Whitmarsh concedes he still does "not fully understand" why Hamilton opted to quit McLaren after 14 years and join Mercedes, who have won just one race in three years since their return to Formula One.
Whitmarsh can appreciate Hamilton's desire "to flee the nest" but remains disappointed by his decision, in particular as he feels it was made after a bad result in Singapore.
That was a race Hamilton should have won to firmly thrust himself back into the title picture, only to retire on lap 23 with a gearbox failure.
"It is always bad to make a decision in the aftermath of a bad race," Whitmarsh told the official F1 website.
"He was pretty sure he was going to win that race and it (the retirement) was a disappointment.
"I respect his decision, but I believe he would be better off with us; we are the stronger team and we intend to beat him next year."
Since Hamilton announced he was off to join Mercedes on a £45million three-year contract, the Brackley-based outfit have failed to score a single point.
McLaren have hardly set the world on fire either, although Hamilton should have won in Abu Dhabi on Sunday only to suffer another mechanical issue while leading from pole position.
Asked whether Hamilton already regretted his decision, Whitmarsh added: "I think he has on occasions, yes.
"Probably, when you make a decision you have to tell yourself that the decision is made so you have to look forward.
"You say 'Okay, that it is in the past', so you don't spend too much time thinking about why. You just look forward and make the best out of the new situation.
"You have to justify your decision. He is not going to say 'Hey, they offered me more money'.
"He is also not going to say he's made an awful mistake. I hope he thinks today he's made an awful mistake and I hope he thinks that next year.
"He's made that decision and he has to live with that decision."
Despite such comments, Whitmarsh knows the end of the final race in Brazil in just over a fortnight's time will be highly emotional.
"Right now we still want to win races. We are motivated by that and our conversation circles around that," he added.
"Maybe he is completely dispassionate about it, but my guess is we both will have very emotional moments in Brazil.
"I have known him since he was 11 and worked with him since his teens and I know we will both be very emotional after Brazil.
"We have had one or two emotional moments since the decision was taken and I believe, but you must ask him, that we have a very good relationship."
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 Rank: Semi-Pro Level 1   Groups: Registered
Joined: 02/10/2012 Posts: 72 Points: 212
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the problem i am seeing is that McLaren want him to leave and could be sabotaging his races because this season he has had a few mechanical failures and has been much calmer than previous seasons. 1 gearbox failure, 1 fuel problem and many terrible setups comes accross suspicious as at the start of the season he hadnt been off the podium for 3 races and was looking to be consistent but with recent bad setups from the team it looks to me that McLaren wanted Lewis to leave the team. Martin Whitmarsh Quoted at the Italian Grand Prix(where Lewis won and Sergio Perez finished a fantastic drive from coming over 20 seconds behind Lewis around 15 laps before the end to finish 1 and a half seconds behind) while talking about Lewis' contract, "we will have two competitive drivers in 2013" this just proves he knew Lewis would leave as he had been watching Sergio's pace in his sauber car. And as soon as the news came through that Lewis had signed for Mercedes, Martin Whitmarsh gave the offer to Sergio Perez and got it accepted immediately. these are a few reasons why i think Lewis would have been leaving McLaren anyway
Aidan :D
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Rank: Semi-Pro Level 1 Groups: Registered
Joined: 02/10/2012 Posts: 72 Points: 212
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just to add to this i was looking up on some Formula 1 news and found this on the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20193556
Aidan :D
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Rank: Semi-Pro Level 1 Groups: Registered
Joined: 01/05/2011 Posts: 52 Points: 152 Location: England
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Think Whitmarsh needs to keep his trap shut,Mclaren been half the team they were when Ron was in charge. I think next season will be the worse it's been since 1996 because Button is next to useless unless the car is perfect and Perez is still very raw. I am a massive Mclaren an always will be but I am not expecting much next season with no Lewis. Builds in Progress
D'Ag 1/8 Mclaren MP4/23
Tamiya 1/24 Toyota Corolla WRC
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Rank: Pro   Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/09/2012 Posts: 198 Points: 596 Location: Location
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Cant wait till Lewis wins next year!!! Dont really understand McLarens Button love fest when quite clearly Lewis should have had the teams focus this season.
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