Lewis Hamilton Has Moved To Mercedes

Save on Delicious

Lewis Hamilton is to leave McLaren after signing a three-year deal to race for Mercedes from next season.

The move, predicted  Eddie Jordan earlier this month, was announced on Friday, causing huge repercussions throughout Formula 1.
It has forced Michael Schumacher out of Mercedes but it is not clear whether the German legend will go back into retirement or look for another team.
Sauber driver Sergio Perez has signed as Hamilton's replacement at McLaren.
"It is now time for me to take on a fresh challenge and I am very excited to begin a new chapter," said 2008 world champion Hamilton, who will partner Nico Rosberg at Mercedes.
"Mercedes-Benz has such an incredible heritage in motorsport, along with a passion for winning which I share.
"Together, we can grow and rise to this new challenge. I believe that I can help steer the Silver Arrows to the top and achieve our joint ambitions of winning the world championships."
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn said: "I believe that the combination of Lewis and Nico will be the most dynamic and exciting pairing on the grid next year and I am looking forward to what we can achieve together.

Hamilton's career

• Makes his debut in 2007 at the Australian Grand Prix for McLaren, qualifying fourth and finishing third
• Wins the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix after finishing on the podium in each of his first five races
• In 2008 signs a lucrative five-year contract to race for McLaren until the end of the 2012 season
• The same year he becomes, at the time, F1's youngest world champion
• A disappointing 2009 sees him finish fifth with only two wins
• Still searching for his second World Championship title after finishing fourth and fifth in 2010 and 2011 respectively
• Signs to race for Mercedes from the 2013 season

"Over the past three years, we have been putting in place the foundations and building blocks that are needed to compete regularly for the world championship. The potential is now there to match any other team on the grid."

The 27-year-old's new team-mate Rosberg tweeted:  "Very cool that Lewis will be my new team-mate! Gonna be another great challenge!"
Hamilton's decision is a huge blow to McLaren, who will now have to do without the speed and inspirational talent of a man they have nurtured since he was 13 years old.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said the Briton had written "a huge chapter of his life and career with us", adding: "It goes without saying that we all wish him well for the future."
Hamilton added: "I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that they have given me and for their support throughout the years.
"I have had the pleasure of working with a fantastic team of genuine people and would like to thank them all for their hard work and support."
Although Hamilton's salary at Mercedes will be larger than the one he was offered by McLaren - and he has more opportunity to earn money through personal sponsorships and endorsements - sources close to the Englishman insist he has switched teams with a view to long-term performance.
McLaren have the fastest car this season, while Mercedes have slipped backwards after a promising start to the year.
But Mercedes have sold the move to Hamilton on the basis that they are preparing for a huge push in 2014, when new chassis and engine rules are introduced.
"Mercedes-Benz has supported Lewis throughout his career, from karting, to Formula 3, to our successful partnership with McLaren," said Norbert Haug, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

Murray Walker on Lewis Hamilton

"It will be a very nice moment for all of us in the team to see him at the wheel of a works Silver Arrow next season, following in the tradition of British Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix drivers Sir Stirling Moss and Richard Seaman."
Schumacher's future is uncertain. Sauber team boss Peter Sauber said a week ago that he would offer the seven-time champion a drive if he became available.
Despite the Swiss team's strong displays this season, that would be seen as a significant comedown for a man who was expected to win on his return.
Instead, Schumacher's comeback after three years in retirement has been a huge disappointment. The 43-year-old German has scored only one podium finish in three years.
In a statement, Schumacher thanked Mercedes for their "trust" and "unconditonal commitment".
"I have had three nice years with the team which unfortunately did not go as well as we all would have wanted on the sporting side," he said.
"I wish Lewis well and for the team to achieve the success we worked so hard for in the build-up. I will now concentrate on the next races."
In another development at Mercedes, triple world champion Niki Lauda has been tipped to take a senior management role at the team.

New McLaren Sporty Cars, for personal use

Save on Delicious

Welcome the McLaren P1 -- the British maker's first supercar since the all-dominating F1 of the 1990s, and from the first trio of photos McLaren released today, the P1 will be one of the most striking vehicles on the road just sitting still. We don't know yet how much power it packs or how well it will perform, but McLaren promises the P1 will be nothing less than the best, ever.

Known as McLaren designer Frank Stephenson's first clean-sheet design for McLaren after the MP4-12C, the P1 is expected to combine the 3.8-liter V8 from the MP4-12C with some kind of hybrid system that could approach 1,000 hp total. In a statement, McLaren managing director Antony Sherriff says the P1 will be "the most exciting, most capable, most technologically advanced and most dynamically accomplished supercar ever made -- not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit."

The rest of the details will be unveiled in Paris next Thursday, with the production model expected about a year from now.

Serena William is dating her Coach

Save on Delicious

Serena Williams has been spending a lot on time on the court with coach Patrick Mouratouglou this season, winning Wimbledon, gold at the Olympics and the U.S. Open to cap an impressive 2012 season.
But based on these photos from a French tennis website, Williams and Mouratouglou may be spending time together off the course as well. The two were spotted cozying up to each other on the streets of Paris recently, leading many to believe there's a budding relationship going on between player and coach.
Mouratouglou, who runs a tennis academy in France, started working with Williams after the French Open, and based solely on the number of major trophies she's won since he came on board, there's no question the switch has been beneficial.
PKTennis.fr
I guess it could now be beneficial in other ways as well. Are they really dating? Who knows for sure. We'd all like to believe a photo or two tells the whole story, but maybe this is just two friends hanging out together in the City of Love, arms around each other ... with Williams putting her hand in Mouratouglou's back pocket.
OK, I'm not one to jump to conclusions, but I'm going out on a limb and saying the Williams-Mouratouglou are dating. It's hard to say otherwise after checking out the second picture of them looking at international properties in a storefront window.