Hamilton's Loyalty

[<_Spike_>]

Lewis Hamilton claims he would be more than happy to spend the rest of his time racing with McLaren just eight races in to what has already been an extraordinary start to his Formula 1 career.

Heading to the British Grand Prix where the championship leader is the big centre of attention, Hamilton even told the assembled press that he would have driven for free if it had been offered to him.

Still, loyalty is something he is very keen uphold and has duly hinted that he would like to stay with McLaren for as long as he is in Formula 1. He is in the right environment for that too given that the likes of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard spent nine and eight years at McLaren respectively.

"There's a lot of emotion there," he told Reuters. "A lot of it is just because I've grown up with them, you go to the factory and everything's perfect - the way things are run, the people there, the mechanics, just everyone. I love everything about the team and I enjoy working with them.

"I couldn't imagine working anywhere else to be honest. I'm not saying I'm going to be here forever, I don't know how long I will be in Formula One, I haven't decided how long I want to stay in Formula One. I might want to do something else."

"But if that is a short time or a long time, I feel happy to see out my career with McLaren because I'm very passionate about the team."

As it happens, while Hamilton is reportedly paid less than reigning champion and team-mate Fernando Alonso, he now stands to make millions from his overwhelming success. Even so, the allure of racing for McLaren was enough for him personally, whether he was paid or not.

"I'm not here for the money. It's never been something that's driven me to get to Formula One," he added. "If Ron came up to me and said, 'I'll give you the drive but you're not going to get paid', any driver would have jumped at it.

"You want to be respected, and at some point you want to be paid your value, but that's not something that drives me."

SkySports

 

[Blake]

Beautiful timing as there&#8217;s allegedly a clause in his contract saying that he can renegotiate his salary if he&#8217;s leading the championship at the half way point (which probably seemed like it would never happen at the start of the year). I guess he wants to get paid what he&#8217;s worth.

 

[Flerbizky]

Beautiful timing as there’s allegedly a clause in his contract saying that he can renegotiate his salary if he’s leading the championship at the half way point (which probably seemed like it would never happen at the start of the year). I guess he wants to get paid what he’s worth.

If that is indeed the cause, that's quite an accomplishment for such a young lad 👍

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I though that he was on &#163;2m pa + &#163;50k per point. A reasonable wage for a rookie.

He's got such a mature attitude though: success should come first, and then the money. Are you listening Ralf, Kimi, AJ Allmendinger etc?

 

[Kylehnat]

1)Any rookie would gladly drive for free. Many F1 rookies drive for less than free.

2)Any driver would gladly stay at a top team for an extended period of time.

These are not profound statements, no matter how much the British press would like to think so.

 

[Tornado]

2)Any driver would gladly stay at a top team for an extended period of time.

That is true, but I think you are looking at that one the wrong way. I think he means that he is glad to stay on McLaren, with McLaren's benefits. If Ferrari was to wave a huge paycheck at him for next year, for example; but he turned it down to stay at McLaren, that would better show what message he was trying to convey than "Of course I would stay. McLaren is a strong team."

 

[Kylehnat]

Well, he's already been with McLaren for over a decade

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Beautiful timing as there’s allegedly a clause in his contract saying that he can renegotiate his salary if he’s leading the championship at the half way point (which probably seemed like it would never happen at the start of the year). I guess he wants to get paid what he’s worth.

It appears that clause may in deed be in his contract...

During the SPEED TV coverage of the practice rounds they mentioned that Hamilton's father has caused quite a stir at McLaren demanding that Hamilton get a pay raise ten times what he is currently getting paid.

 

[Omnis]

"You want to be respected, and at some point you want to be paid your value, but that's not something that drives me."

I'll continue the statement:

"What drives me is the fastest car on the track. If McLaren can't deliver that, then I think I'll be far more interested in that money."

 

[Kylehnat]

During the SPEED TV coverage of the practice rounds they mentioned that Hamilton's father has caused quite a stir at McLaren demanding that Hamilton get a pay raise

This has always bothered me about athletes/agents/sports. A contract is a contract. If you agree to it, it will dictate what you earn for the specified period of time. The concept of arbitration is ludicrous. I cannot go to my boss and say "hey, I had a pretty good year, so I deserve a lump sum equal to 10 times my salary--a number I agreed to in a legally-binding contract". Hamilton has already guaranteed himself another few years in F1, at least. Subsequent contracts after this year will be in the 7-figures, no matter which team it is. No need to be grubbing for money right now...

 

[Blake]

But if there is a clause in his contract that allows him to renegotiate his salary if he&#8217;s leading the championship at the half-way point, then why not try to renegotiate a better salary?

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

This has always bothered me about athletes/agents/sports. A contract is a contract. If you agree to it, it will dictate what you earn for the specified period of time. The concept of arbitration is ludicrous. I cannot go to my boss and say "hey, I had a pretty good year, so I deserve a lump sum equal to 10 times my salary--a number I agreed to in a legally-binding contract". Hamilton has already guaranteed himself another few years in F1, at least. Subsequent contracts after this year will be in the 7-figures, no matter which team it is. No need to be grubbing for money right now...

Excellent point. Even if an athlete or an employee has the right to ask for more money, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is the right thing to do, and in some cases it has really backfired on certain prima donna athletes... although it is far too early to judge Hamilton's off track actions.

But if there is a clause in his contract that allows him to renegotiate his salary if he&#8217;s leading the championship at the half-way point, then why not try to renegotiate a better salary?

Well the problem is that he isn't yet at the halfway mark. Sure, he has the lead at the halfway mark locked up already, but why not at the very least wait until then to start renegotiating his contract instead of just days before a very important race in his home country? It's a case of very poor timing, especially after his speech on how loyal he is. His father's actions sends a rather clear message that his son's loyalty may very well be for sale.

On the other hand, I agree that he not only has the right to ask for more money, but frankly he deserves it. I think the mistake he made was to not wait until after this race and for McLaren to first offer him a pay raise instead of demanding it, and even worse, to take a private negotiation and make it a public one by discussing it with the press. I suspect these decisions have the folks at McLaren quite disappointed, especially considering how much time and money they have invested in Hamilton&#8217;s career over the years.

I certainly hope and expect this will all get sorted out, as I really enjoy seeing Hamilton race for McLaren, as it seems like such a perfect match.