Why Mercedes ‘top brass’ were once put off signing Lewis Hamilton to replace Michael Schumacher

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Lewis Hamilton stunned the Formula 1 world when he announced that he would be leaving McLaren for Mercedes in 2013. It sounds silly to say now, but back then, it was a hugely controversial decision.

While Nico Rosberg had delivered the Silver Arrows their first win since their return to F1 in 2010 in China, they still finished the 2012 season in fifth. Meanwhile, McLaren were 236 points up the road in third, with Hamilton winning four races.

After claiming his maiden title in 2008, the Brit was having a difficult time in Woking, as the team struggled to provide him with a competitive and reliable car. Finishing 91 points behind Sebastian Vettel in 2012 was the final straw as he made the controversial decision to join Mercedes.

The move was made even more controversial when Hamilton did not tell McLaren face-to-face that he was leaving. He knew that was wrong to do, and did not make the same mistake in 2024 when he announced his stunning move to Ferrari.

Joining Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton had huge shoes to fill as he would be replacing seven-time champion Michael Schumacher. However, that was not the team’s initial intention, as they hoped the German would stay put beyond 2012.

Mercedes ‘top brass’ were put off by Lewis Hamilton’s ‘£30 million-a-year price tag’ to replace Michael Schumacher

In fact, Hamilton was not even the Silver Arrows’ top target at first, as they were considering the likes of Nick Heidfeld and Paul Di Resta.

Journalist Glenn Freeman explained via The Race: “Norbert Haug believed that Michael Schumacher would sign a new deal to race beyond 2012.

“And if a replacement was needed, the race team was told to evaluate drivers like Nick Heidfeld, who had been in talks to join Honda in 2008, and conveniently was German, and former Mercedes DTM champion Paul Di Resta, who was racing for Force India.

“Former team CEO Nick Fry has even said he received an impassioned phone call from 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who claimed he was still capable of cutting it at the sharp end of F1.

“Fry was no fan of Villeneuve’s, having seen him up close in the BAR years, and he said he struggled to keep a straight face at the idea of Mercedes bringing the Canadian back to F1 in his early 40s.”

Mercedes ‘top brass’ were put off by Hamilton’s huge price tag, as Freeman noted. He would have cost the team £30 million per season, which would have caused further damage to their operational costs, according to a certain Toto Wolff.

Working with Williams at the time, Wolff had been consulting with Mercedes over their F1 project and found that they were spending less money than Williams on car development because of Schumacher and Rosberg’s salaries.

Therefore, it is understandable why Mercedes were hesitant to sign Hamilton. It was not until Niki Lauda stepped in and demanded that the team bring him in that they pulled the trigger, and it turned out to be an incredible decision.

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Lewis Hamilton set numerous F1 records at Mercedes as he became the sport’s GOAT in stats

Back in 2008, Schumacher wondered if Hamilton was better than Felipe Massa. He would be proved wrong very quickly with that question, as the Brit won the title that year over the Brazilian, who never won an F1 championship.

Hamilton replaced Schumacher at Mercedes at the right time, as the team began their ascent up the order in 2013. Finishing second that year, the team aced the new V6 turbo hybrids under the new regulations in 2014, which saw the Brit utterly dominate the sport.

He won another six titles between 2014 and 2020, only losing the 2016 title to Rosberg. Hamilton and Rosberg sparked an intense rivalry at Mercedes, with the pair clashing numerous times on and off the track.

Hamilton excelled at ‘lobbying’ team management while battling Rosberg, which he described as a ‘dagger to the heart’. After the German retired in 2016, Hamilton went on a tear and became F1’s winningest driver, as well as setting the record for most poles and podiums.

He is not enjoying the same success in the ground effect era, however, winning just twice with Mercedes between 2022 and 2024, and he is having a miserable time with Ferrari in 2025. Unlike Schumacher, Hamilton will not have the same desire to race after he retires from the sport.