Lewis Hamilton is likely to be on an equal footing with Michael Schumacher come the end of this weekend. The fact that the Brit is able to take his seventh world title is largely due to his team Mercedes AMG F1. However, in 2012 he was not immediately convinced to switch to the team the following year, Hamilton says.
Hamilton doubted Mercedes
Nobody could have guessed in 2012 that Hamilton, together with Mercedes, would become so dominant in the years to come. Hamilton himself also questioned the German manufacturer's offer, he said during the press moment prior to the Grand Prix in Turkey.
Racefans.net quotes the driver: "I had spoken to Niki at the time [Lauda]. I was at home in Monaco and I talked to him and he talked to me. I am pretty sure he was the first person I spoke to. He said: "You really need to join the team". I wasn't really convinced in the beginning."
At mother's home
Hamilton continues: "The moment that I was really persuaded, when I started to think seriously about it, was when Ross [Brawn] came to visit my mother and we were having tea in the kitchen."
Brawn showed the McLaren driver what the team was up to. "That was really the selling point."
Although Hamilton was persuaded to join the team, he never expected to be so successful with Mercedes. In 2015 he was already on an equal footing with his hero Ayrton Senna and on Sunday he may be able to take the seventh title and match Schumacher.