“I respect his decision, but I believe he would be better off with us;
we are the stronger team and we intend to beat him next year.”
Since Hamilton announced he was off to join Mercedes on a £45 million
three-year contract, the Brackley-based outfit have failed to score a single
point.
McLaren have hardly set the world on fire either, although Hamilton should
have won in Abu Dhabi on Sunday only to suffer another mechanical issue
while leading from pole position.
Asked whether Hamilton already regretted his decision, Whitmarsh added: “I
think he has on occasions, yes.
“Probably, when you make a decision you have to tell yourself that the
decision is made so you have to look forward.
“You say ‘OK, that it is in the past’, so you don’t spend too much time
thinking about why. You just look forward and make the best out of the new
situation.
“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 he’s made an awful mistake. I hope he
thinks today 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.”
Despite such comments, Whitmarsh knows the end of the final race in Brazil in
just over a fortnight’s time will be highly emotional.
“Right now we still want to win races. We are motivated by that and our
conversation circles around that,” he added.
“Maybe he is completely dispassionate about it, but my guess is we both
will have very emotional moments in Brazil.
“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.”