Lewis Hamilton has had regrets over leaving - McLaren boss

McLaren team principal Martin
Whitmarsh believes Lewis Hamilton
has already had regrets about his
move to Mercedes.
Whitmarsh said he did "not fully
understand" the reasons behind
Hamilton's decision to join a less
competitive team.
"I think he has on occasions [regretted
it]," Whitmarsh said.
He said he felt Hamilton's decision was
motivated by a desire to "flee the nest"
and that he suspected Mercedes
offered him more money.
The remarks came in a wide-ranging
interview with the official Formula 1
website.
Whitmarsh said he believed wanting to
move on from a team Hamilton has
been part of since he was 13 was his
"prime" motive for leaving McLaren.
"If I were speculating there are a
number of factors, and the prime one, I
think, is that there comes a time when a
man feels he has to flee the nest,"
Whitmarsh said. "I think it was a bit of
that and a range of different emotions.
He has been with us for so many years
that I do not fully understand it."
He also said he suspected Mercedes
had offered Hamilton a bigger salary.
"We made Lewis an offer - an offer,
which I believe is more money than any
other driver at the moment is being
paid," Whitmarsh said.
"That leads us to suspect that our
competitor and our partner Mercedes-
Benz offered a bit more money. I don't
know that, but I think for Lewis made
his decision."
Asked about Hamilton's remarks that he
is looking forward to the opportunity of
building Mercedes into a team that wins
regularly, Whitmarsh said: "You have to
justify your decision. He is not going to
say: 'Hey, they offered me more
money.' He is also not going to say that
he's made an awful mistake. I hope he
thinks today that he's made an awful
mistake and I hope he thinks that next
year.
"He's made that decision and he has to
live with that decision. I have known
him since he was 11 and worked with
him since his teens and I know we will
both be very emotional after Brazil. We
have had one or two emotional
moments since the decision was taken
and I believe, but you must ask him,
that we have a very good relationship."
Whitmarsh said he suspected Hamilton
and McLaren would both have "very
emotional moments" at the final race of
the season in Brazil later this month.
BBC Sport understands that Mercedes
did indeed offer Hamilton more money
than McLaren.
Hamilton is believed to have earned
about $24m (£15m) including bonuses
this year with McLaren.
Sources say McLaren initially offered
Hamilton about $20m (£12.5m) plus
bonuses for 2013 and upped that to
$22m (£13.8m) plus bonuses when
they realised Mercedes was a serious
possibility for him.
Mercedes initially offered about $28m
(£17.5m) plus bonuses, upping it to
about $31m (£19.4m) plus bonuses
after McLaren raised their offer.
Mercedes have not scored a point in
the four races since Hamilton's move
was announced.
But at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last
weekend Hamilton said he had no
regrets about the switch.
"I already knew how big [a task] it was,"
he said. "I really thought about it hard,
and I could see how big it was. Perhaps
it's growing as a task, but I'm excited
about it, to meet the new people and to
be in a new environment and mould
myself into it.
"It doesn't worry me. I'm really excited
to go there. I feel fantastic about the
decision - I'm massively excited about
working with new people. It is a
fantastic team. I know they have lost
their way a little bit at the moment, but
I'm going to go and help them find their
way."

Bbc