Lewis Hamilton caught many by surprise when he decided to leave McLaren and join Mercedes back in the 2013 F1 season, and his reason for it stunned Jeremy Clarkson.
The Briton had built his career in the pinnacle of motorsport with McLaren, having debuted for the Woking outfit in 2007 as a product of their driver academy. Hamilton first signed for McLaren in 1998 when he was just 13 years old after showing massive potential in go-karts.
Hamilton even fought for the F1 drivers’ championship as a rookie in 2007, and he then won his maiden title in 2008 for McLaren’s first crown since Mika Hakkinen’s second title in 1999. But Hamilton never finished in the top three of the standings again before joining Mercedes.
Mercedes announced their capture of Hamilton in September 2012, which shocked many as the Silver Arrows had won one Grand Prix since they seized control of Brawn GP in 2010. Yet Mercedes dominating F1’s turbo-hybrid era from 2014 more than justified Hamilton’s move.
Lewis Hamilton stunned Jeremy Clarkson by saying he joined Mercedes as they won the 2009 F1 title as Brawn GP
No one could honestly predict when Hamilton quit McLaren that Mercedes would go on and win the drivers’ title each season from 2014 to 2020, plus the constructors’ title each season from 2014 to 2021. Hamilton won six drivers’ titles, and Nico Rosberg lifted the title in 2016.
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So, when Hamilton told Jeremy Clarkson on BBC Two’s Top Gear back in February 2013 that he had joined Mercedes from McLaren as the Brackley bunch had lifted the 2009 F1 title as Brawn, the presenter quickly voiced his shock, albeit through gritted teeth, about the claim.
Hamilton explained: “It’s a big change for me, obviously. But I’m really, really excited about it. Everyone is criticising it, and everyone has their own opinions. But, for me, I’ve been at McLaren since I was 13. It was a long period there, and I wanted to change. I’m a risk taker.”
To which, Clarkson replied: “There’s a risk, and a risk, because McLaren have won 182 races. Mercedes have won one in five years. So, what makes you think [that it will work out]?”
Hamilton responded: “Well, they won the championship.” To which, Clarkson responded: “Well, it was actually Brawn, so technically not. Have they told you that?”
Clarkson’s response saw Hamilton reply: “You’re right, they’ve really struggled the last few years. But I think what it is, is when the rules came out in 2009, everyone came out with the design of a car, and every year after that it’s an evolution of that car. And they started on the wrong foot, and they’ve just been on the wrong foot since then.”
Mercedes went from midfield marauders to the dominant team thanks to F1’s 2014 engine regulations
Mercedes initially bought a 75.1% controlling share in Brawn GP after the 2009 season, and they renamed the team who had started out in F1 as Tyrrell Racing in 1968. The team also entered F1 as British American Racing (BAR) from 1999-2005 and Honda from 2006-2008.
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Honda’s shock withdrawal from F1 at the end of 2008 due to the global financial crisis then saw Ross Brawn notoriously buy the operation based in Brackley for just £1. Jenson Button even won the 2009 drivers’ title as Brawn GP also secured the constructors’ championship.
Brawn GP benefitted from Honda’s vast investments in developing a revolutionary double diffuser for the 2009 F1 regulations, which drastically changed the look of F1 cars from the designs that saw Hamilton contend for the drivers’ title with McLaren in 2007 and 2008.
But Brawn GP’s lack of funds during the 2009 season meant they could not develop Button’s car, which almost let Red Bull rival Sebastian Vettel mount a comeback in their F1 title fight. Mercedes then had to start from scratch when they took over Brawn GP in the 2010 season.
Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were rarely able to show their skills across the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons due to the deficiencies of Mercedes’ cars those years. Rosberg won the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix and took a combined five podiums, while Schumacher bagged one.
So, many in the F1 world could not understand why Hamilton would walk away from one of the most successful teams in history in McLaren to replace Schumacher at Mercedes. But a total of six titles, 84 Grand Prix wins and 154 podiums through 2024 proved Hamilton right.
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