Aston Martin CEO Lawrence Stroll says the possibility of signing Lewis Hamilton when his Mercedes contract expires at the end of the year is “definitely tempting”.
Hamilton agreed a one-year extension to his current Mercedes contract last month, but does not yet have a deal for the 2022 F1 season.“It is definitely tempting,” Stroll, the billionaire who rebranded Racing Point as Aston Martin after buying the two companies, told the Press Association when asked whether he would sign Hamilton. “Lewis in any car is great, and I am sure everyone would say yes because he is a seven-time world champion.
“But right now, I am extremely focused on getting started this year.”
Stroll signed four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel to the team this year. He cut short Sergio Perez’s deal by two years to place Vettel alongside his son, Lance Stroll, who begins his fourth season in F1 this year.
The 22-year-old has been a focus of criticism from those who claim he owes his place in F1 entirely to his father’s fortune. Stroll dismissed their accusations as jealousy.
“Do I think Lance is talented? I think he is immensely talented. I have no doubt he has demonstrated that he has world championship blood in him.”
Aston Martin announced alcohol-free beer brand Peroni Libera 0.0% as its newest sponsor earlier today. “This partnership is another boost to the team ahead of the new season and is an opportunity to bring together two iconic brands on a unique journey in Formula 1”, said Stroll.
RaceFans understands Peroni had been in contact with Ferrari about a deal, but did not reach terms. The Italian team has taken on the rival brand Estrella Galicia 0.0%, long associated with its new driver Carlos Sainz Jnr.
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Witan
25th February 2021, 18:20
The interlinked interests between Aston and Mercedes, Wolff and Stroll might be the route this move might go. If Hamilton wins another title he must think he is not going to be outshined for a generation or two so why not join another developing team as Schumacher did and teamed with his mate Vettel.
Aston is still a prestigious mark.
Bond, Lewis, Lewis, Bond.
Unlikely but not by any means impossible.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
25th February 2021, 18:21
Vettel won’t be happy about this, as it would be him leaving however well he does next year.
Realistically, I think there’s almost no chance of this happening. Mercedes will be Hamilton’s last team, I’m sure of it.
But imagine if he did go to Aston Martin, and formed the ‘dream team’ with Vettel. Fans have been wanting to see Vettel and Hamilton as teammates for about ten years!
F1 frog (@f1frog)
25th February 2021, 18:25
By this I mean Vettel won’t be happy that Lawrence Stroll is already saying he wants seven-time Hamilton in his team instead of the four-time champion he’s already got, before Vettel has even driven a single race for his team.
Robbie (@robbie)
26th February 2021, 4:59
@f1frog I read it differently. Firstly he has not said he wants LH instead of SV. If he was saying that he would have said ‘I’d sign him in a heartbeat.’ By saying it is definitely tempting he is saying what all team owners or principals would say or think. That it would be tempting yes, but realistically who even thinks LH would be interested. It’s such an unlikely thing that LS has just sloughed it off as ‘tempting’ because he can’t say ‘in a heartbeat’ and still be respectful of his son and SV, and if he says ‘not in a million years’ he’d look silly, for who wouldn’t be tempted. Even SV and Lance can understand why Lawrence would be tempted for he’d have to be daft not to at least be that. He’s being honest.
Dean Franklin
25th February 2021, 19:01
I think it would be Hamilton vs Vettel. Good way to draw attention to your team with an 8 time and 4 time champion.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
25th February 2021, 19:30
Vettel would have ZERO chance against Hamilton. Literally ZILCH.
Leclercq is an excellent driver but Seb’s woes were of his own making and they made Charles’s performance appear greater than it actually was.
Patrick (@paeschli)
25th February 2021, 19:39
Vettel has a very unique driving style. Vettel / Hamilton in the 2013 would have been very interesting.
Dean Franklin
26th February 2021, 3:42
I agree. I think Vettel is rubbish. He was a good driver at one point. In 2011 he was more dominant than Hamilton has ever been despite the RBR probably being the equivalent of 2017 Merc in terms of dominance.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
26th February 2021, 4:13
Doesn’t Max’s contract with Red Bull expire at the end of this season? Then the question is will Mercedes want Max in preference to Lewis? If Max does get a seat at Mercedes then why would they want Lewis as well? They could employ George as a backup to Max. So Lewis going to Aston Martin isn’t so far fetched after all.
Robbie (@robbie)
26th February 2021, 4:42
@drycrust My understanding is that Max has a contract with RBR through 2023. I have seen it worded that it is a ‘permanent’ contract through this season, with a standard performance clause which is not about the pu specifically.
So I take that to mean that if he decides the performance isn’t there or won’t be in the next few years he can get out after this season at no expense to himself. Not sure if he has to ‘prove’ anything about their theoretical lagging in performance, but as Horner has recently said of contracts, in his experience they only get pulled out of a drawer if there is a problem, but otherwise what it comes down to is if a driver simply no longer wants to drive for a team they can hardly force him to do so. Just that depending on when he might want out, he or his new team may have to buy him out of said contract if it is not performance clause related ie. within the performance clause window.
My prediction which I think is likely many people’s…LH isn’t going anywhere but Mercedes for 2 more seasons after this one, and nor is Max.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
28th February 2021, 18:12
@robbie Thank you for correcting me on this.
Robbie (@robbie)
28th February 2021, 21:24
@drycrust You’re most welcome.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
25th February 2021, 21:24
I’m sorry. He’s deluded if he thinks Hamilton will join Aston Martin. Its Mercedes or retirement.
There are zero signs that a team buying parts from Mercedes will be able to regularly beat Mercedes.
pastaman (@)
25th February 2021, 21:29
He’s not deluded, he was asked if he would sign Hamilton given the opportunity. Who would say no? That person would be deluded.
pastaman (@)
25th February 2021, 21:27
“Hey, would you sign Hamilton if he was available?”
This is like the laziest question you could possibly ask as a journalist.
Robbie (@robbie)
25th February 2021, 21:54
@pastaman LOL true, but I guess it has to be asked, no? Still, you’re right on the noodle with that one.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th February 2021, 22:59
I guess you never know when you’ll get a “heck no” out of someone @pastaman, so one keeps trying, right!
Gavin Campbell
25th February 2021, 23:49
Maybe but people have been asking that about Alonso for years – and many would of / have turned down the opportunity to do so.
If Mercedes decides not to continue or if Ineos proves too much of a barrier for Lewis outside of Ferrari I’m not sure who would actually sign him. I think Red Bill would turn the offer down, not sure McLaren would run him again. Aston would be one of the few possibilities.
pastaman (@)
25th February 2021, 23:58
Yes you are right and my point still stands.
Dave
26th February 2021, 9:42
Now try asking Hamilton about what took him so long to announce the 2021 deal.
Dave
27th February 2021, 18:02
P.S.: I’d rather write a diss track at Bernie Ecclestone but say I wasn’t serious afterwards.
petebaldwin (@)
26th February 2021, 1:10
That’s a hilarious interview. He’s tempted to sign Hamilton huh? You know what? I’m tempted to take over from Hamilton at Mercedes if he leaves…
Jere (@jerejj)
26th February 2021, 8:53
Good luck with that.
F1oSaurus (@)
26th February 2021, 9:08
More bait for the clicks.
Balue (@balue)
26th February 2021, 11:40
Stroll’s whole business tactic is to improve a brand’s standing, so generating stories like this was probably to be expected.
mmertens (@mmertens)
26th February 2021, 14:25
Hamilton would never take this risk, why leave the most dominant Mercedes where his track record show him as an all time great and switch to a “normal” team and fight for podiums only? He can keep racking wins and enhance his status at Mercedes. Changing to Aston Martin would only make him look worse than now, a bit what happened with Schumacher on his comeback, people realized he was not unbeatable as his previous stint in F1 had shown.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
26th February 2021, 16:27
@mmertens
Schumacher spent 3 years away from F1 in a period with some major regulation changes : new cars in 2009, refuelling ban in 2010 and later when he was racing the introduction of Pirelli high degradation tyres in 2011. He also sustained serious neck injuries in a motorbike crash at 140 mph that prevented him to make a comeback to Ferrari in 2009.
According to his doctor, Michael had a serious injury to the seventh vertebra of the neck, a fracture of the first left rib and a fracture at the base of the skull, roughly the size of a thumbnail but in a place supporting the whole weight of the skull. There was also a hairline fracture on the left side of the skull. One of the two main arteries to Schumacher’s brain was also damaged which affected directly his reflexes.
I’m not sure how many top athletes in the world would overcome such serious injuries and return at the age of 41 competing against the best. From the early 2010 season, it was clear that Michael has lost his speed and consistency but he wasn’t either way off Rosberg’s pace – who was slightly slower than Hamilton over his 4 years stint with him as a teammate – and sometimes pulled some incredible results.
I think Michael’s comeback was phenomenal to say the least but was overshadowed by the fact that everyone expected him to perform like he was at Benetton and his early Ferrari years when he was in a consistent challenge for race wins and championships.
mmertens (@mmertens)
26th February 2021, 17:26
Thanks Tifoso for the extensive reply on Schumacher. I understand it was a major undertake for him to come back to F1, and all of the aforementioned factors from your post explain it really well. On my end, I also appreciate a lot the fact that he had the guts to comeback and enjoy new gen F1. But like you also said, the expectations from the media and most of the public were that he would blow away competition (or at least Rosberg) with his greatness , but the stats shows otherwise. This makes the point to my previous argument. Most of people looked at Schumacher as almost god like status, but his comeback showed that he was only human. A very gifted sportsman nonetheless, but with the advantage of having a long period of time with winning machinery on his first stint. The same risk can be held by Hamilton should he decide to drop Mercedes with the most perfect and balance car F1 has had, with the most efficient and effective team behind and change it for a team that doesn’t have the same expertise. The risk is that his today’s god like perception will also have a hit and show that he’s human after all if he just manage to run for podiums let’s say. That I was trying to point out with my argument, not to detract from Schumacher exploits. It was just to show that this move would make no good on the perception people will have after on Hamilton’s achievements. But these are only my 2 cents on this, thanks for the detailed info on Schumacher.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th February 2021, 7:27
Winning a title with any other team would cement his GOAT status.
But he could easily win more titles right there at Mercedes.
People are judged by difficulties they overcame. Lewis since Rosberg can be judged by some free sailing.
At Aston, he would be up against some rough challanges.